Few conventions were left unchallenged in the 1970s as Americans witnessed a decade of sweeping social, cultural, economic, and political upheavals. The fresh anguish of the Vietnam War, the disillusionment of Watergate, the recession, and the oil embargo all contributed to an era of social movements, political mistrust, and not surprisingly, rich cultural diversity. It was the Me Decade, a reaction against 60s radicalism reflected in fashion, film, the arts, and music. Songs of the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and Patti Smith brought the aggressive punk-rock music into the mainstream, introducing teenagers to rebellious punk fashions. It was also the decade of disco: Who can forget the image of John Travolta as Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever decked out in a three-piece white leisure suit with his shirt collar open, his hand points towards the heavens as the lighted disco floor glares defiantly below him? While the turbulent decade ushered in Ms. magazine, Mood rings, Studio 54, Stephen King horror novels, and granola, it was also the decade in which over 25 million video game systems made their way into our homes, allowing Asteroids and Pac-Man games to be played out on televisions in living rooms throughout the country. Whether it was the boom of environmentalism or the bust of the Nixon administration and public life as we knew it, the era represented a profound shift in American society and culture.
Kelly Boyer Sagert, a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), Author's Guild and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has sold over 1,000 pieces of her writing to magazines, newspapers, online sites, encyclopedias and literary journals. Her first play, Freedom's Light: A Stop Along the Underground Railroad, (sponsored by the Lorain County Metro Parks), received excellent reviews, including:
"Lorain's Kelly Boyer Sagert concocted "Freedom's Light: A Stop Along the Underground Railroad." It's an engrossing account of a one woman's journey from slavery in the South to freedom right in Lorain County via the legendary Underground Railroad (which, of course, has nothing to do with locomotives or tunnels).
Sagert's ear for colloquial dialogue matches her command of American and Ohio history and her heart for looking inside an African American woman and the spirit of black and white Americans who fought for freedom." (Lorain Morning Journal, May 4, 2009)
Sagert has written nine books and is under contract for another book. She has contributed material to more than one dozen other books, including chapter 4 of Colonial America: From Settlement to Revolution by ABC-Clio.
Her books include:
* Flappers (Greenwood Publishing, 2009)
* FabJob Guide to Become a Freelance Writer (FabJob, 2009)
* FabJob Guide to Become a Fitness Club Owner (FabJob, 2009)
* Encyclopedia of Extreme Sports (Greenwood Publishing, 2008)
* American Pop Culture Through History: The 1970s (Greenwood Publishing, 2006)
* FabJob Guide to Become A Funeral Director (FabJob, 2005)
* All-Time Greatest Hitters: Joe Jackson (Greenwood Publishing, 2004), a look at one of the most talented--and controversial--athletes of our century
* Birth of Illumination (2001), a work-for-hire book about the rise of the public library system in Toni Morrison's hometown
* 'Bout Boomerangs: America's Silent Sport (PlantSpeak Publications, 1996), which the Australian boomerang coach called "nearly perfect"
For the past 9 years, Boyer Sagert has taught writing to adults, worldwide, through the Internet for the company that publishes Writer's Digest.
Boyer Sagert also served as managing editor of Northern Ohio's Over the Back Fence for nearly four years (1997-2001). This magazine, which profiled the art, history, intriguing people and fascinating places along Lake Erie's shores, was nominated by Writer's Digest for their "Top 100 Award" in 1998 and 1999. She served as the contributing editor for the Southern Ohio edition of Over the Back Fence as well, and she also edited five trade magazines and numerous business directories, community guides and travel planners for the company.
Boyer Sagert currently works fulltime as a writer, editor and speaker. She writes biographical and educational material for encyclopedias and other anthologies, including publications put out by Macmillan and Gale Group, Charles Scribner's Sons, ME Sharpe, Harvard University Press, Oxford University Press, University of Indiana Press and Facts on File. She also writes marketing materials for a wide variety of companies.
She speaks regularly on communications issues at writer's conferences and workshops, including those held at The Ohio State University, Youngstown State, Kent State University, Bowling Green State University and Lorain County Community College. She has spoken at Progressive Field (the Cleveland Indians stadium) and the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, and she appeared on an ESPN2 program called "The Top Five Reasons You Can't Blame the Black Sox."
