contact: laurie perez + metro phoenix + arizona + phone: 480.862.6641 + email: lauriepjb@gmail.com


laurie perez: biographical tapas

I believe life is a mysterious web of connections we may never fully understand, but the quest is worth it. I believe pressure is a given factor in daily life, but stress is an option. I suggest that the only essential question is: how can I find value in this moment, right here, right now?

Scroll down the page to find out more about my background and some of the bite-sized details that have been part of my ongoing personal evolution.

no sabe el rio que se llama rio
-pablo neruda

"We have to be mindful of what we're doing and how we're shaping matter, consciousness and each other. And we have to move forward in a state of wild, raw mystery - allowing the truth of who/what we are to predominate - trusting the truth to manifest in our own best interest as we allow it to become something others may be swept into or nourished by." From a blog entry dated 10.17.07

education + travel


At the risk of sounding corny: life is my classroom; I'm an indefinite candidate for the Ph.D. in Enlightenment, whatever that turns out to be. In the meantime, I have signed on for more tangible degrees, including a B.A. in English from Arizona State University and the M.S. I earned from PCOM. I studied flash fiction with Jamie Callan when she was at UCLA and have explored craft and knowledge through many workshops, seminars and conferences in my self-willed curriculum.

Since 1990, I have lived and worked in Malaysia, Japan, Mexico and the Caribbean and traveled extensively in Southeast Asia. I'm smitten with Manhattan, Kyoto and Paris, too - all for different reasons that bring me alive and nourish my soul. My favorite dwelling of all the places I've been is where I currently reside: Arizona. I've arrived, moved on, returned, departed and returned again, never leaving this earthy foundation and expanding horizon.

professional experience


I've earned (and sometimes endured) the following titles in my eclectic, yet cohesive career: Journalist, Editor, Tech Writer, Volunteer, Sensei, Tech Editor, Creative Writing Fellow, Reiki Master, Teaching Assistant, Prof, Mentor, and L.Ac

Ask me for details and I'll happily elaborate.

creative tangents


Short stories, essays and works of flash fiction published by:
Word Riot, 2003 and 2007
The Mississippi Review, 1997

Urban Desires, 1997
The Alien, 1995
Her World: Malaysia, 1991

The Antigonish Review, 1989

My novel is available through Cafepress:



other morsels



What I want to be: a visual meditation.




(c) joy broker, laurie perez 2008
most recent update to this page: 03.12.08

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