My name is Magdalena Herreshoff and I live high up in the Andes in Ecuador, more than 7,000 ft above sea level, in a little village called Uzhupud, 32 km NE of Cuenca.

Every early evening I look out over the valley towards Cuenca to admire the changes of color of the sky and the movements of the clouds usually sipping on a fine Royal Dutch vodka martini.

I am 70 years old and two and a half years ago, my husband and I decided it was time to have one more big adventure in our lives. We sold most of what we had and put our treasures in a storage unit in the Northwest, where we had lived for over a decade. We each took one suitcase and headed off for the first time to Cuenca, Ecuador. Other than one visit to the States, we never turned back. After a year we bought some property in Uzhupud and that is where I am now putting together my book of Andean poetry and short stories.

In the first month of my arrival in Cuenca, Ecuador, I joined a new group of writers, called Writers in Transition, also referred to as WIT. I have been an active participant of this group for two and a half years and am very grateful for the support, encouragement, and feedback I have received from this diverse and talented group of mostly expats.

My book “Andean Poetry and Short Stories” is in progress and will be published before the end of this year 2013. Another book of my more personal poetry is due to be published in 2014.

I have been a writer all my life and have produced several Limited Art Edition Books, a combination of poetry, prose and original art, which have been collected by various Universities in the state of Washington:

“Torsos: A Breast Cancer Journey”, 1995

“Field Flags”, 2000

“Bird Tracks, 2010

Magdalena Herreshoff, poet, author
Uzhupud, Ecuador