About Deanna

Deanna is a passionate believer in the healing and even redemptive power of art. As a youth services and audio-visual librarian for over a decade, professional writer, mother of three, Nia brown belt dance instructor, and as of three years ago, a breast cancer survivor, Deanna has experienced first-hand how art can change lives.

As a magazine journalist and formerly Assistant Producer of the PBS series, “California Working;” as well as contributor to Portraits in Healing: artistic pathways through breast cancer;  to two Write Around Portland anthologies, The Cracks in the Paint, and More Than a Book; and as a poet whose piece, “Inside the Changing Room” about losing her mother to breast cancer was selected for the most recent edition of Voice Catcher, Deanna has experienced how the creative wisdom can transform both artist and audience. Whether expressed through dance, poetry, music, theatre or the visual mediums, art remains humanity’s greatest hope for connecting with and understanding the deepest part of ourselves and community.

And so the birth of Combustus. Whether as contributor or reader, you are invited to use this magazine for your own journey. As you browse these pages and see and hear what creative individuals all over the world are sharing about their own unique experiences, we invite you to join the discourse and let us know what matters to you. Did something you found in here resonate? Let the artists or writers know. Start a conversation. Join the dialog. Connect with others who are passionate about how ideas and artistic endeavors, both beautiful and yes, even at times disturbing, can shape our visions of ourselves and the world around us.

So leave a comment, or, if you would like to have your own work considered for inclusion in a future issue, drop Deanna a line at [email protected]

Deanna also assists emerging writers on a case-by-case basis.

Welcome.