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Ingrid Keir was born and raised in the Bay Area to a Scottish father and Swedish-English American mother. She began to write and read poetry in grammar school. In fact, her first memory relating to poetry is from 3rd grade, when she was reprimanded for passing a poem to a boy in class. At the ripe age of fifteen, her father nailed her bedroom window shut to keep her from sneaking out in the middle of the night. She had been using the late nights to write, read and discuss a variety of teen-angst ridden topics at the neighborhood diner.Her interest in poetry led her to pursue a degree in English Literature. Once she received her B.A. from San Francisco State University, she moved to New York City to study for her second English degree.

She met Jennifer Barone, and the two embarked on monthly poetry readings with friends and musicians. It was in New York that she began to push the limits of her poetical nature. She had never read poetry in front of an audience when she began hosting an open-mic! She is one of the founders of The WORDParty and thewordparty.com, a collaborative of San Francisco and New York City poets who reach out to those who have creative abilities that may go unnoticed or untapped. The WORDParty provides a space for people to express themselves, online and in-person.

When Ingrid moved to San Francisco, the poetry open-mic evolved and integrated jazz into the night, now known as WordParty Tuesdays Poetry & Jazz open mic where she is currently co-host. What makes the night special is that there is not any “type” of poetry that must be read. All are welcome to share the stage with the musicians including the young, old, urban, literary, spoken word poets, as well as those who are seasoned or new to poetry.

Additionally, Ingrid has helped to organize numerous events in San Francisco including: a sold out celebration for Pablo Neruda’s 103 birthday entitled Feliz Cumpleanos Neruda!, PoemDome, WordParty Meets the Poetry Bus and She Speaks.

Ingrid has self-published two chap-books; the first called Urban Booty (1999); the second entitled The Secrets of Like (2004) collection of poetry about being a Bay Area native living in New York City and and Toward the Light (2007).

books by Ingrid:

To purchase a copy, contact the author.

Toward the Light
with artwork by Kyle Knobel
$15 + $2 shipping & handling

The Secrets of Like
chap book, $5 + $2 shipping
& handling

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