About Mel

Melissa S. Green for long, Mel Green for short: a workaday workadyke of the north; queer but not narrow. By day I’m a publication specialist, by night (and lunchtimes) I’m a writer, poet, and blogger.

Writing

I consider myself an “occasional political blogger” because I write about all kinds of other stuff, too; and my real purpose in life anyway is to write — mainly science fiction/fantasy and poetry. For example, see my short story “Cold,” published in the November 2009 LGBTQ issue of Crossed Genres.  You can find other writing stuff under the category Field of Words. I’m currently back at work with my long-term novel-in-progress Mistress of Woodland and am also doing lots of work in my Cold/Long Dark story universe.

Politics

But I do write political stuff too, especially regarding the fight for LGBTQ equality.  (For those unfamiliar with that alphabet soup, that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning.)  Besides Henkimaa, I also write at Bent Alaska, Alaska’s LGBTQ blog, where I’ve also been a coadministrator since February 2011.  In 2009, I was the recipient of a True Diversity Award for Excellence in Online Media for coverage on this website of the (ultimately unsuccessful) fight to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the nondiscrimination code in Anchorage, Alaska. I was principal writer for One in Ten: A Profile of Alaska’s Lesbian & Gay Community (Identity, Inc., 1986) and was coauthor with Jay K. Brause of Identity Reports: Sexual Orientation Bias in Alaska (Identity, Inc., 1989) (find both studies here), and am a founding member of the Alaska LGBT Community Survey Task Force, where we’re currently conducting data analysis to report findings of the Anchorage LGBT Discrimination Survey. I’ve written a number of posts on the incredibly true adventures of the Rev. Jerry Prevo, Anchorage’s most famous homophobe.

In other political news, I’m best known for my in-depth posts on Sarah Palin’s 2 million dollar meme (my most-read post) and its sequels; a series of posts on Sullygate — the very fish payout of a putative insurance payout of $193,000 from the Anchorage municipal treasury to a trust — the George M. Sullivan Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust — led by George M. Sullivan’s son, Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan; and efforts by social conservatives to overturn provisions of Alaska’s constitution on judicial selection and retention in the federal Miller v. Carpeneti lawsuit.

Social media

Bent Alaska | Alaska LGBT Community Survey | Facebook | Twitter | Flickr | LiveJournal

Background

Work

• I’m a 20-year employee of the Justice Center at University of Alaska Anchorage, where as a publication specialist I  do a lot of document layout, make a lot of tables and charts, and keep track of our rather unwieldy website.  I’ve also learned a thing or two about the criminal justice system that go beyond what’s on TV & in the movies.

Education

• Graduate, 1977, Columbia Falls High School, Columbia Falls, Montana
• B.A. in Religion, 1981, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts
• MFA in Creative Writing, 1997, University of Alaska Anchorage

About the pin

The “Write Hard Die Free” pin in the photo at the top of this page was designed by William Spear of Douglas, Alaska. That and other great pins are available at wmspear.com.