Power Women of Queens: Joan Becht Willette

Joan Becht Willette is a writer and a passionate lifelong educator, who has lived and taught in Queens, N.Y. for most of her adult life. She graduated from St. John’s University with a B.S. degree in Education and a minor in English Literature. She also holds a M.S. degree in Special Education from Queens College. Joan aka “The Enchanted Goddess” is a member of the “SARK Writing Community” and “Your Year of Miracles” inspirational learning community. She is currently writing “The Enchanted Goddess Of Queens”, “Soul Retrieval” a collection of poetry and prose, and “Finding Anna” a retrospective historical fiction book. Joan has read her work as a featured writer for The Inspired Word, Waltz-Astoria, Boundless Tales, Canvas of Words, Nature of the Muse, Immigration Advancement Matters, Kea’s Spoken Word, Q.E.D. at the Risk of Discovery Reading Series. She has collaborated with musicians from The Inspired Word and with Astoria Stand Up, to lend flavor and magic to her featured performance, at “The Inspired Word – All Stars Featured Performance” and in “Celebrating Queens Women Artists” performance, which she hosts and curates each year at Queens Council on the Arts. Joan also is a recipient of a “Queens Arts Intervention” Grant Fall 2015, and held an event titled: “The Poet is In” at Socrates Sculpture Park on Saturday: September 19, 2015. She designed customized Literary Art pieces for the community. The Newtown Literary Journal recently published her poem, “Paradise Found In Socrates Park” in their Winter 2014 issue. “The Unfolding” was just published in SIREN magazine in their January 2015 issue. “Indomitable Spirit” was published by Silver Birch Press in 2015 and “An Apocalypse of the Heart” was published in “These Winter Months” anthology, edited by Anne Born, Backpack Press in 2016. Joan has presented her work at The International Women’s Artist Salon in March 2014, The Queens Book Festival Event in June 2015, The NYC Poetry Festival in July 2015 and The Queens Lit Fest in 2016, 2016 and April 2017. Joan was a featured Literary Artist on the debut of the QPTV series, “The Artist Space”(2014), QPTV show “World of Arts” (2015) and “Celebrating Queens Women Artists” (2016 and 2017) filmed by Empyre Media Productions on an annual Women’s History event curated and hosted by Joan Becht Willette at Queens Council on the Arts. She has also been featured on NY1 and in The Queens Chronicle, The Queens Tribune and most recently in The Huffington Post. Joan’s organization, “The Enchanted Goddess: Literary Creative Arts Series” is listed in The Queens Lit Resources site. Her “The Enchanted Goddess Writing Series” debuted in March 2015 and “The Enchanted Goddess Reading Series” was launched in April 2015. “The Enchanted Goddess Revue” performance series was launched in 2016 and “The Enchanted Goddess Creative Arts Collective” a small group creative incubator for women artists. Joan hosts monthly “The Enchanted Goddess Writing/Reading Discussion Workshops” and “The Enchanted Goddess Creative Arts Collective Workshops. Joan’s mission is to inspire women to transform their lives through “creativity, collaboration and community” through every decade of their lives!