Kelly, Liz 1967-

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Kelly, Liz 1967-

PERSONAL:

Born 1967, in MN. Education: University of Kansas, B.A., 1989; University of Alaska, M.F.A. Religion: Catholic.

ADDRESSES:

Home—St. Paul, MN. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Loyola Press, Inc., 3441 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60657.

CAREER:

Jazz singer and writer. Performed variously with ensembles in the United States and Europe, including the Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland, and the North Sea Jazz Festival, The Hague, Netherlands; University of Alaska Jazz Faculty Ensemble, Anchorage, featured vocalist, 1991-94; University of Alaska Theatre, Anchorage, vocal coach, 1993; served as featured vocalist with the Richard Bray Big Band, the jazz quintet Solar, and the jazz quartet Pyramid; Watkins Film Institute/Watkins School of Art and Design, Nashville, TN, writing teacher; Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, endowment office staff member; University of St. Thomas, fellow.

WRITINGS:

The Seeker's Guide to the Rosary, Loyola Press (Chicago, IL), 2001.

The Rosary: A Path into Prayer, Loyola Press (Chicago, IL), 2004.

May Crowning, Masses, and Merton: 50 Reasons to Love Being Catholic, Loyola Press (Chicago, IL), 2006.

Also released two musical CDs. Contributor to periodicals, including the Madison Review, Contemporary Christian Music, Our Sunday Visitor, Nashville Scene, Charisma magazine, and the Anchorage Daily News.

SIDELIGHTS:

Liz Kelly is a jazz singer and author whose work is heavily grounded in her faith. She grew up Catholic in a large family in which religion was a part of daily life; her mother attended mass regularly and prayers were said prior to and following each meal. As an adult, she traveled extensively and used a religious pilgrimage to help her to determine her future path, a decision that led her to graduate school in creative writing at the University of Alaska. She continued to learn about her religion and her own personal faith as she wrote, and as she performed as a vocalist with various jazz groups across the United States and Europe. Although she composed some fiction, primarily as a graduate student, she ultimately began to write about Catholicism, both the doctrine itself and her own experiences with faith. The Seeker's Guide to the Rosary addresses the art of this traditional prayer and examines what might be achieved through its recitation. Mary Walsh, in a review for Crisis, called Kelly's book "a lovely tribute and a powerful witness to the beauty of this simple prayer that has the power to change the world."

In May Crowning, Masses, and Merton: 50 Reasons to Love Being Catholic, Kelly examines her own faith and the aspects of her religion that she loves most, from rituals and traditions to objects within the church. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly found Kelly to be "most convincing when she writes from personal experience."