Peggy Heitmann is a poet, a writer, and an artist.
Peggy was born with a story in her mouth and comes from a long line of storytellers. For at least four generations, the women in her family have passed down stories—spoken, animated, and alive with voice and gesture. Peggy carries that tradition onto the page, striving to captivate readers with the same urgency and rhythm that once echoed through cotton fields and front porches.
Rooted in the landscapes of Columbus, Georgia, and Phenix City, Alabama, many of Peggy’s stories draw from passed-down memories of farm life and work in the cotton mill. She lived for many years in Columbus before settling in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she continues to write from lived experience. Place remains central to her work, and she returns often to the people, histories, and textures of the South.
She lived for many years in Columbus before settling in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she continues to write from lived experience. Place remains central to her work, and she returns often to the people, histories, and textures of the South.
A poet at heart, Peggy blends narrative and lyric, drawing from both her heritage and her present-day life. She is especially drawn to structured forms such as the pantoum and the golden shovel, where constraint sharpens creativity. Whether writing poetry or memoir, she begins with story—always with story.
Her work circles recurring themes: ancestry and memory; her experience with breast cancer; love; a lifelong connection to Vincent van Gogh’s art; the natural world; and a deep, hard-earned sense of gratitude.
Peggy’s poetry has appeared in literary journals including The Broad River Review, Gyroscope Review, and The Atlanta Review. In 2025, she received first honorable mention in the Ron Rash Poetry Awards, and in 2024, she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her poetry collection, Some Call It a Journey, exploring her experience with breast cancer, is forthcoming from Kelsay Books.
In addition to writing, Peggy is a mixed-media artist who works primarily in watercolor and collage. Guided by experimentation and intuition, she allows materials to lead, embracing both discovery and mistake as part of the creative process. Her work often evolves organically, with color, texture, and elements of nature emerging—sometimes intentionally, sometimes by surprise.
She continues to balance writing and visual art, and cannot imagine a life without both.
Listen as Peggy takes you on the winding path of her writing career and her hopes for the future: