Bonnie was born into the ranching lives of pioneer grandparents and Irish storytellers in Northern Montana.
Married as a teen, she completed two college degrees as a single mother, working as a waitress, a ranch cook, and chauffeur. Two more degrees were completed along the way.
She spent most of her adult life balancing college teaching, administration, and community service with a family to care for, her love of writing and nature to sustain her.
For ten years she taught middle school children to enjoy reading and writing.
For over thirty years, she taught college students to seek self-understanding through sharing their stories and confronting their issues.
She honors the numinous in all things natural ranging from the top of Cook's Peak to wild storms charging down the slopes of the Rocky Mountain Front.

Cultural and ethnic diversity have influenced her life from Blackfeet playmates, Guamanian neighbors and students to connections with New Mexico Hispanics. Her marriage to Librado Maldonado brought her into the circle of an old Indo-Hispano family.
Her life is one long poem recorded on scraps of paper until her retirement at age sixty-nine when she finally had time to create manuscripts.
She was inducted into the New Mexico Women's Hall of Fame for extensive work in the area of community service.
She was selected as the Inaugural Poet Laureate of Silver City/Grant County New Mexico.
Bonnie is the only Southwestern poet to be included in the collection which celebrates both the past and future of The Land of Enchantment.
Write to Bonnie via email or
23 Oxbow Dr., Silver City, NM 88061 |