ABOUT ME
Catherine Karnitis was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, where she earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Art History from The Ohio State University. Subsequently, Catherine lived in the Bay Area for about a decade while pursuing a PhD, first in Art History and then in History at the University of California, Berkeley. She was the recipient of several fellowships and taught as a Graduate Student Instructor for a variety of courses. Catherine later earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Writing from the University of San Francisco, where she was a Poetry Editor for the department’s online literary journal, Invisible City.
As a spiritual seeker and student, Catherine spent two years in India in the nineties, offering service and studying in an ashram, and later conducting graduate research on ancient and medieval South Asian art. Impressed and influenced by the pilgrimage places she visited in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, and Rajasthan, Catherine became deeply immersed, spiritually and academically, in the study and practice of devotional/guru yoga and meditation. She was fortunate also to pursue her love of Indian Classical music by taking vocal classes and lessons with Ali Akbar Khan, Shweta Jhaveri, and Mangala Tiwari.
Other places Catherine has called home over the years are Ashland, Oregon, where she trained in massage therapy, Fort Collins, Colorado, where she apprenticed on an organic/biodynamic farm, and in the Catskills of New York, where she served as the Document Archives coordinator for an International not-for-profit spiritual organization.
Following a creative impulse that largely consumed her life, Catherine began writing poetry about nine years ago. Her poetry writing intertwined with her study and practice of Craniosacral therapy, though circumstances led her to concentrate on her writing for extended periods. Catherine writes poetry to give voice and expression to the personal and collective Unconscious. Catherine has been very fortunate to learn the craft of poetry through many mentors, teachers, and fellow poets – to whom she is indebted. She hopes to publish some version of her MFA thesis titled “No Country,” which explores themes of alienation, loss, and the hope of redemption.
Catherine is available for Poetry Coaching online and in person.