Archives West Finding Aid

Judith Anne Azrael was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 28, 1938. “I began writing as a child in a diary that I could lock with a tiny key,” she recalls, “and have continued writing journals and poetry and stories through all the years. In times of pain or sadness, the writing seems to ease it. And the times of joy are enriched. And always writing feels to me like a gift.”

In 1959, Judith received a BA degree from the University of Wisconsin. She then married and had two children. In 1972, she received an MFA degree (with Honors) from the University of Oregon. Since then, she has remained on the West Coast and currently lives on San Juan Island. She previously lived in Bellingham, on Lummi Island, and in Mendocino, California.

Her stories and poetry have appeared in about 60 magazines and anthologies, including The Nation, Harvard Review, Yale Review, Shenandoah, The Christian Science Monitor, and the Sun. Four books of her poetry have been published: Fire in August, Fields of Light, Antelope are Running, and Apple Tree Poems. A collection of her stories entitled Wherever I Wander was published by Impassio Press.

Judith has been teaching writing workshops for many years. She held a three-year position of Visiting Writer at Western Washington University from 1977 to 1980. During that time she was invited to teach at a workshop for gifted high school writers at the Centrum Foundation in Port Townsend, Washington. She also taught correspondence courses for Western Washington University from 1988 to 1993. Other teaching positions that she held were at the University of Oregon (1971-1972) and College of the Redwoods (1974-1977 and 1986-1988). She taught at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham from 1981 to 1986 and won two teaching awards there. She has also taught writing workshops at libraries and art centers. One of the workshops that she taught was in the mountains of northern California at a minimum security prison. She wrote a very long story entitled “Thursdays” about that experience. The story was published in Shenandoah and in her book Wherever I Wander. Selections from the story appeared in Poets and Writers.

In 1978, she traveled for the first time to Greece. She was so captivated by its beauty that since then she has returned to stay for three months each year. Many of her stories and collections of poems have been written there. She smiles as she remembers how many friends have told her that her eyes sparkle whenever she speaks of Greece.

Her writing is also deeply influenced by Buddhism. She has had the privilege of stays at monasteries and retreats in northern California, England, and Thailand, and feels the teachings she has received from the monks and nuns have enriched her life. Some of her stories and poems have appeared in Buddhist magazines and monastery publications.