Eileen “Sam” Owen earned a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from the University of Washington and was awarded two Artists’ Residencies from the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming where she attended her first branding. Office Manager and assistant tour guide for Rick Steves’ European tours provided a wealth of poetic inspiration and skills in packing light. She volunteers at Room One, a Twisp social services organization. Her poems have appeared in numerous literary publications, and a chapbook, Facing the Weather Side, was published by Basilisk Press in 1985. Her poetry collection Split was release in December 2019 by the Independent Writers’ Studio Press in Bellingham, WA.