Joanne Forman decided to become a composer at sixteen. She had an illustrious career ever since that moment.
Forman helped create a number of theater programs in the U.S. She became a specialist in puppetry in multicultural and bilingual education.
She moved to Taos, New Mexico in 1978. A friend's note gives us a look into Forman's life. It reads:
"Her life is much akin to the simple frontier life of a pioneer woman. Joanne has composed some remarkable pieces including a musical called "Voting" to be given in schools... She is known in Taos as an accomplished musician. The center of her home is her piano. We were impressed with how much she loves her life - modest in the extreme … yet she has made a comfortable home that contains all the things that are truly important to her."
Joanne Forman's papers at UW's American Heritage Center contain operas, short stories, puppet plays, and more.