Background
Mary Leader was born on January 9, 1948 in Pawnee, Oklahoma, United States, into the family of Joe and Katharine H. Privett.
Mary Leader was born on January 9, 1948 in Pawnee, Oklahoma, United States, into the family of Joe and Katharine H. Privett.
Mary graduated from the University of Oklahoma receiving Bachelor of Arts in 1975, and a Juris Doctor in 1980. Then she studied at the Warren Wilson College, where she earned Master of Fine Arts in 1991. In 2000 she got Doctor of Philosophy at the Brandeis University.
In 1980 - 1981 Mary worked as an assistant to attorney general at the Office of Oklahoma Attorney General, and already in 1982 she was appointed a referee at the Oklahoma Supreme Court. She held that position until 1991. She was a creative writing fellow in poetry and lecturer in literature and law at Warren Wilson College, Emory University, Louisiana State University, the University of Memphis, and Brandeis University. Currently, she teaches at Purdue University.
Moreover, Mary was a contributor of poems to journals, including Western Humanities Review, Membrane, Virginia Quarterly Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Denver Quarterly, and Malahat Review.
Mary was married to Neal Leader, but they divorced. They have two common children: Sarah and Edward Leader.