Ethel Fortner

Who was Ethel Fortner?

Ethel Nestell Fortner was an accomplished poet, critic and editor. She was born a coal miner’s daughter in Colorado. Her formal education was completed with an M.A. from Wilmington University in New York, where she met her husband, Larry. After a career teaching at The Oregon School for the Blind, they retired to a career in farming in Estacada, Oregon, where Ethel began a commitment to writing and soon became editor of Human Voice Quarterly. She was a frequent contributor to the St. Andrews Review and the earliest benefactor of the St. Andrews College Press, visiting the campus often. The Ethel Fortner Award was instituted for her in 1986.