Norman, Liane Ellison, 1937-

Liane Ellison Norman can be described as an author, essayist, columnist, poet, professor, fundraiser, and social activist. Born in Ogden, Utah, in 1937, her interest in writing followed her through life when in 1959 she earned her bachelor's degree from Grinnell College in English and in 1967 obtained her MA in English and PhD in English and American Literature from Brandeis University. She moved to Pittsburgh, Pa., in the 1967 to teach English at Chatham College (now Chatham University). In 1970, she began teaching part-time at the University of Pittsburgh and seven years later she was hired as a full-time faculty member in the English department. While in Pittsburgh she has contributed her writing to both local and national publications like the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Pittsburgh New Sun, The New York Times, The Center Magazine, Sojourners, and Friends Journal, just to name a few. Her work approaches social justice issues, conflict, civil disobedience, nuclear issues, and politics. She has also written extensively about classical music. In 1984 she founded and acted as director of the Pittsburgh Peace Institute, an organization committed to teaching non-violent solutions to youth and adults. She authored a number of books: Stitches in the Air: A Novel about Mozart's Mother, The Duration of Grief, Hammer of Justice: Molly Rush and the Plowshares 8, and A Simpleton Story: A Fairy Tale for the Nuclear Age.