Author Showcase
Stacie Kling
Words that reach for understanding and connection
Stacie Kling is a lifelong educator and storyteller whose work is rooted in curiosity, compassion, and the quiet transformations that unfold in classrooms. For nearly thirty years, she has taught in public, private, and charter schools, carrying with her an enduring sense of wonder for the magic of childhood learning. Her writing—poetry, fiction, and song lyrics—reflects the same attentive spirit she brings to teaching: a belief that every moment holds meaning, and every person is always becoming.
AGAIN: A Teacher’s Journey of Becoming
A lyrical, unflinching portrait of a life spent teaching.
Teaching is a profession built on heart—on caring deeply, showing up fully, and rising again each morning despite the weight of responsibility. In Again, Stacie Kling traces the evolution of her nearly thirty‑year career through raw, luminous poems that reveal the emotional landscape of a teacher’s life.
Organized into three transformative arcs—Becoming, Awakening, and Summiting—this collection explores the triumphs, heartbreaks, doubts, and quiet revelations that shape an educator’s identity. Through vivid metaphor and honest reflection, Stacie invites readers into the choreography and chaos of the classroom, where lesson plans collide with real life and where hope persists, stubborn and bright.
Again is more than memoir in verse; it is a mirror for every educator who has ever wondered whether they are enough. It is a reminder that the journey is ongoing, and that we are always becoming.
From the Author . . .
“Teaching has shaped every corner of my life. These poems grew out of the moments that stayed with me—the ones that challenged me, changed me, and reminded me why I return to the classroom again and again. My hope is that this collection offers recognition to those who teach, and a deeper understanding to those who have been shaped by teachers. We are all, always, becoming.”
A Conversation with Stacie
What inspired AGAIN? Nearly three decades in the classroom gave me a front‑row seat to the beauty and complexity of learning. I wanted to honor that experience honestly—the joy, the exhaustion, the doubt, and the deep sense of purpose that keeps teachers going.
What do you hope educators feel when they read this collection? Seen. Understood. Reminded that their work matters, even on the days when it feels impossible.
What surprised you most while writing these poems? How much of my own becoming was intertwined with the lives of the children I’ve taught. The classroom shaped me as much as I ever shaped it.
What are you working on next? A collection exploring communities and connections—how we build them, how they sustain us, and how they change over time.
How the Work Came to Life
Stacie’s writing process mirrors her teaching life: reflective, intuitive, and grounded in real moments. Many of the poems in Again began as notes scribbled after school, lines captured during quiet early mornings, or reflections gathered on long walks outdoors. Her work grows from lived experience—observations, emotions, and questions that linger until they find their way onto the page.
Praise for Again
“Kling captures the emotional truth of teaching with a clarity that made me stop and breathe. Her poems feel like conversations we’ve all had in the hallway after a hard day — honest, tender, and deeply human.”
“From the quiet ache of ‘Again’ to the sweetness of ‘Crochet’ and the sharp humor of ‘On Notice,’ Kling writes the stories teachers carry but rarely speak aloud. Her work is a mirror held up with compassion.”
“As a teacher who wrestles daily with self‑doubt, I felt seen in these pages. Kling gives voice to the inner battles we fight — the second‑guessing, the exhaustion, the fear of not being enough — and somehow turns them into something beautiful, validating, and brave.”
