McKim, known as "the jazz poet of Lynn," is the author of eight collections of poetry and coauthor of the teaching guide Beyond Words. Her poems and essays have appeared in many journals including Ploughshares, Poetry, and Drum Voices. She is poetry editor of the international journal POIESIS, published in Toronto.
McKim is a pioneer member of the Arts Institute for Expressive Therapy at Lesley University, where she has been a graduate adjunct faculty member for over forty years. She has worked with teachers throughout the US, helping them weave poetry into their daily life and curriculum. She works improvisationally with musicians, dancers, and visual artists, and teaches from a multi-arts trans-cultural perspective.
McKim's roots are in the oral tradition of song, story, improvisation and poem. She has read and performed her poetry in countless venues, locally and abroad, particularly in Switzerland, where she is Poet Laureate of the European Graduate School in Saas Fee