Raised in Georgia, Julianza (Julie) Shavin, multiply nick-monikered as Jules, Jewels, Jul, Jz, Jay, Hoolio, Yulie and Hey You! (corresponding to various personalities, mindtwins and uber-spoiled inner grandchildren) is a composer, writer, and visual artist who adopted the Rocky Mountains as home in 1993. Recipient of three Pikes Peak Arts Council grants, she was named 2011 PPAC Performance Poet of the Year; in 2012, Page Poet. Recently, she was awarded second place and two Honorable Mentions in the Mark Fisher Prize contest. In 2014, she merited three awards through the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. Past-President of Poetry West (www.poetrywest.org), she served as editor of the thirtieth anniversary issue of its literary magazine The Eleventh Muse. Her favorite fruit is the scuppernong and its cousin, the muscadine, neither of which anyone in Colorado has ever heard of and thus, will not order for her. Shavin is an animal-welfare advocate and activist who works with numerous rescue groups in Colorado and around the country.
