Cat Catalani never took the path of least resistance.

The published poet taught at Stanford University. She gave up a comfortable position in academia to try to make it in the hit-or-miss world of the folk singer.

As a song writer, Catalani found a vehicle to express herself that was more satisfying than poetry.

On stage, she says she could be silly or solemn, touch people or make them laugh with her well-crafted ballads.

So what if she's a late bloomer. It hasn't diminished Catalani's enthusiasm.

Catalani began writing songs when she was 40. In just three years, she is already a fixture in the Chicago folk music scene. She has released "Bingo City," her first demo CD.

She appears frequently at such folk clubs as Changes in Park Forest and Uncommon Ground in Chicago. She's a regular guest on WFMT's "The Midnight Special." Catalani keeps plugging her songs because she believes in them.

Like Leslie Nuss, the Park Forest native, Catalani, who lives in Skokie, also hopes to appear at Lilith Fair.

She has a Web site for people to cast votes for "Maureen," her original ballad.

Catalani knows it's "an outrageous leap" to expect people to vote for her song. But she feels her ballad deserves the exposure.

"I know what a long shot this is," she acknowledges. "Still, it seems to me I should be trying for long shots now, as well as the short and medium ones, and that my song 'Maureen' is an emotionally powerful and vulnerable song that I believe in and want to share."

"Maureen" deals with a woman's memories of her childhood abuse, and how her family kept telling her to be quiet about it.

Catalani's entering the contest a little late. But she's also a little old to be writing songs, and that never stopped her.

"I've decided to go for it -- to see what I can learn from the ride," she says. Even if she doesn't win, Catalani feels good about the impact of her song.

She says when she sings this song, people often feel moved because they may remember a painful experience from their own childhood.