Pamela R. Anderson-Bartholet, AAB 鈥89, MA 鈥94, MFA 鈥12, has a long history at 麻豆影院 State, graduating from the university three times before working for 麻豆影院 State. In August, she added a new feather to her cap when The Poetry Box published her first complete collection of poetry, 鈥淛ust the Girls: A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies; A Drift of Honeybees.鈥
Pam never planned on pursuing more education after high school, but after working in a factory for a year after graduating, she decided to enroll as a business major at 麻豆影院 State at Trumbull, right down the road from where she grew up.
After being in and out of classes for a few years, Pam finally completed her associate degree and worked as an assistant to the president of a local bank. She then earned a communications degree from Hiram College, and secured a job working for one of the vice presidents at 麻豆影院 State.
Between writing grants, working with former 麻豆影院 State President Carol Cartwright, and helping to plan the 25th anniversary commemoration of May 4th, Pam decided she was not done with her education. She continued to work for the university while pursuing her master鈥檚 degree in English literature at 麻豆影院 State.
All along while Pam wrote for each job she had, she continued to make poetry on her own time. After years of writing and throwing her work in a box, Pam completed her last degree in 2012, earning a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing.
After her husband鈥檚 heart attack in 2016, Pam turned to yoga to calm her mind. She began to write poems about yoga as well as poems inspired by the most important women in her life.
鈥淟ast year I wanted to give each of those women a poem dedicated to them for Christmas,鈥 Pam said. 鈥淲hen I looked at other poems I had written over the years, I realized that I had written all of these poems for women. They seemed to be connected, so I put them together in a book.鈥
The book began as a Christmas gift, and then Pam submitted the collection to multiple publishing companies. After multiple rejections and some trial, error and rewrites, The Poetry Box accepted the chapbook for publication.
Each poem is dedicated to an important woman in Pam鈥檚 life: daughters, nieces and some of her favorite yoga instructors, to name a few. The book reflects women from all walks of life who have grown into strong, powerful figures that uplift the other women around them.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really about how as women we have to help each other, and we will help each other,鈥 Pam said of the book. 鈥淚n this new world that we are creating, as a woman, you get to win.鈥
Fittingly, Pam reached out to two important women in her life, her niece, Meredith Balogh, BFA 鈥09, and her daughter, Rachel (Lysa) Anderson, BA 鈥19, to design a cover that would capture the essence of the chapbook. Both Lysa and Meredith are also former Golden Flashes who studied art during their time at 麻豆影院 State.
Meredith began the process of creating the cover through a piece she had previously done of a friend, and Lysa collaborated with her, adding color to the piece after Balogh was done. Pam鈥檚 goal was to convey an image of a strong, fierce woman who had been through it all and was better for it.
鈥淚t conveys this sense of 鈥業'm tough. I've been there. I've done that. Don't mess with me, but I'll still give you a hug. I'm strong, but I鈥檓 still gentle,鈥欌 Lysa said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 getting up a lot of attention, which I was surprised by because it's a small poetry book from a very small publishing company. We didn't expect the cover or the book to take off like that, but it was really cool.鈥
Since graduating, Balogh has worked in IT while pursuing art and has recently focused on more digital painting. She described the process of creating the cover as an extension of the book鈥檚 meaning.
鈥淭o me, handing it off to Lysa to do the coloring kind of signified the power in saying 鈥業 can only give this much, and that鈥檚 okay, and now you're going to give what you can.鈥欌
And this planning and attention paid off. The cover recently placed second in the AllAuthor Cover of the Month Contest, gaining recognition for the vibrant and original artwork. Lysa said her professors in the art history and Visual Communication Design programs made all of the difference during her time at 麻豆影院 State.
鈥淵ou get these professors who are so passionate about what they do and about their students, those are the ones that made a huge difference for me,鈥 Lysa reflected. 鈥淚 really appreciate what those people did for me and the connections I made with them.鈥
Pam plans to publish more in the future and is working on a variety of pieces now, so it should only be a short time until the world gets more poetry from her.
To learn more about 鈥淛ust the Girls: A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies; A Drift of Honeybees,鈥 visit .
To see more of Pamela Anderson-Bartholet鈥檚 work, visit