CCW Member Profile – Olivia Morgan
The eldest of nine children, Olivia Morgan was raised by a father who stressed education above all else.
“With brothers and sisters, we would wait for the library to open, even in pouring rain, to check out anynew books first.”
Olivia attended a convent school in Wales with very strict nuns who were “often heartless,” she says.
“But they did insist on story writing, which I loved.” Her enthusiasm for reading also led her to writing, a passion strengthened by winning a school writing contest with her story about a visit to a blacksmith shop. At seventeen, Olivia also won the title of “Britain’s Most Promising Writer” for her series of articles about a paralyzed young woman who led a renowned Girl Scout program from her wheelchair.
“I was embarrassed and shy about the award,” Olivia admits. Yet she did not shy away from competing for the title of Miss Wales, which she won. Nor did she shy away from earning dual majors in English Literature and Ancient History at the University of Wales Teachers College where she also received a Highest Honors Life Teaching Credential.
“At University, I worked for two newspapers as a part-time reporter. I loved the immediacy of getting sent out on a story, typing it up on a tiny portable typewriter, and getting paid automatically—at slave wages.”
Olivia’s favorite genres are short stories and poetry, though she remains flexible. Now retired from a 25- year teaching career at Monterey’s Santa Catalina School, at 74 she returned to college to obtain a liberal arts degree geared toward childhood education. She needed this degree to teach in the public school system. “California is notorious about not giving full credit for qualifications achieved outside the state,” Olivia says. As class valedictorian, she presented her address in the presence of her three grown sons.
A CCW member for five years, Olivia “writes when the right moment prods [her] soul to get busy.” She’s currently occupied with the recent release through Amazon of her new book about Wales. Titled Green
Dragon Pie, her book is a combination of history, poetry, and cooking and was edited by CCW’s Joyce Krieg. Olivia is also writing a memoir about a child living through war, and she hopes to publish a book of poetry.
“I’ve been writing all my life,” she says. “Never give up. The members of our club inspire me and recharge my creative batteries. I feel privileged to be among them.”
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