Anitra says, “There is only one thing that makes somebody a writer: the desire to write. The rest is penwork. Or keyboard work, or that lovely invention, voice dictation. And I appreciate all writers. Whenever someone shares their writing, it is my privilege to hear it. The desire to write hit me early. In third grade, I wrote poems with sophisticated rhymes like “us” and “bus.” Years later, that led to newspaper and magazine articles, blog essays, more poems, a 17,000-word start on a novel Kippy and Claude (I’ll be back, Kippy), a couple of commissioned biographies, and the screenplay for my 2020 indie film, Flight of the Sparrow. Lately, besides writing, I have been singing jazz and playing flute in local coffeehouses – it’s like taking a walk after the pace of singing and playing Irish whistle on jigs and reels in a 2019 Celtic band. I have been known to make rude jokes behind the microphone.”