About Janet
I write to understand why a person does something—especially something unexpected. I write to surprise myself.
I write essays about Hanford, coffee, the accumulation of clutter, Post-it notes, food, hymn singing, our dog, Misha, about a Charlie McCarthy puppet, a stairway walk, about giving your heart, about the care of the central line of a stem cell transplant patient.
I write stories about a bridge club, a violinist, a piano teacher, a muse, a linguist, a small-town photographer, a woman whose mother believes she will be taken in the rapture, the earth as an overworked overheated college professor.
I write about Vi Hilbert.
Seattle writer Janet Yoder took a Lushootseed class with Vi Hilbert at the University of Washington in 1978. What followed was a thirty-year friendship enduring until Vi’s passing in 2008. During that time, Janet and her husband, Robby Rudine, accompanied Vi on travels in Indian Country to attend naming ceremonies, memorials, Salish language conferences, and the observance of Treaty Day in the Tulalip Longhouse. Janet edited two books for Vi, proofread other Lushootseed Press books, volunteered on Vi’s various projects, and interviewed her extensively.
Janet’s essays and short stories have been published in literary journals, including the Baltimore Review, Chautauqua, Jet Fuel Review, Apalachee Review, American Literary Review, and Passages North. Her work has been recognized with a Pushcart Prize nomination and a Hedgebrook residency. She lives with her husband on a floating home in Seattle, Washington.