Growing Up American

Phyl Kerns is the author of the playCowboy of the Western World, and the poetry collections, Who in the World Am I?andEight Poems. She wrote the screenplay for the filmThe Travelers, whichwas produced in 2007. A fifth-generation Oregonian, she raised 5 children on her own in Eugene, Oregon, while sustaining her life as an artist. She is a reader intimately conversant with the works of Tolstoy, and other writers who have deepened her sense of craft, and her sensitivity to human yearning, struggle, and fulfillment. She has a Master's degree in American Studies from Yale University, and has filled her life with writing scripts, stories, and poems that present American stories with universal insig