Livija Rieksts Bolster

Born in Greven, Germany in a displaced persons camp, Riki Bolster emigrated to the United States in 1949. She grew up in rural Pennsylvania as part of a close-knit Latvian immigrant community. Much of her writing speaks to these experiences.A former journalism teacher, Riki Bolster enjoyed a 19-year tenure at Grady High School (renamed Midtown High School), an inner-city school in Atlanta, Georgia, where she developed courses in Mass Media, Introduction to Journalism, Newspaper Production and...See more

Born in Greven, Germany in a displaced persons camp, Riki Bolster emigrated to the United States in 1949. She grew up in rural Pennsylvania as part of a close-knit Latvian immigrant community. Much of her writing speaks to these experiences.A former journalism teacher, Riki Bolster enjoyed a 19-year tenure at Grady High School (renamed Midtown High School), an inner-city school in Atlanta, Georgia, where she developed courses in Mass Media, Introduction to Journalism, Newspaper Production and Television Production. Her students and the student newspaper, The Southerner, consistently won state and national awards. She was named Atlanta Public Schools High School Teacher of the Year in 1998-99.Upon retirement she established and administered an after school Writing Center for students and started a book club for parents which has continued for 15 years. Bolster's prior writing was primarily work related. She honed her editing and writing skills on curriculums, grant applications, and feature stories for local publications. She was first editor for Saving the Georgia Coast, published by UGA Press in 2020. Ilze's Daughter is her first book of poetry. She credits the encouragement and critique of her writing group, Inkfingers, and membership in the Atlanta Writing Club.Now a transplanted Yankee, Livija Bolster holds a BA in English from Eastern University and an M.Ed in Special Education from the University of Georgia. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and has three grown children. See less