Joshua McKinney’s Summer Eco-Poetics Class
FEATURING:
Stan Zumbiel taught English in middle and high school for thirty-five years and has had a hand in raising four children. He sat on the board of the Sacramento Poetry Center for twenty-five years. In 2008 he received his MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Previously his poems have appeared in Poet News, Nimrod, The Suisun Valley Review, Primal Urge, Convergence, Word Soup, Late Peaches, Sacramento Voices, and Medusa’s Kitchen.
Bob Stanley has written poems and organized poetry events for over forty years. Active in SPC since 1997, Bob teaches English at Sac State and co-directs the Writing Center. He’s edited two poetry anthologies and published two chapbooks, plus his full-length poetry collection, Miracle Shine. With his son John Stanley, Bob also recorded an album of original music, Songs from Random Lane. Sacramento’s Poet Laureate from 2009 to 2012, Bob lives in Sacramento with his wife, Joyce Hsiao.
Rhony Bhopla was born in London, and raised in California. She enjoys volunteering for the Sacramento Poetry Center, the Education Team at the Crocker Art Museum, and as a judge for Poetry Out Loud. This fall, she will teach a class called, “What if I AM a poet?” at the Crocker.
Rick Rayburn is a fourth generation Angelenan, raised in Pasadena, and graduated from UCLA during the Vietnam War. Rick and his wife, Marianne, lived in Arcata, Humboldt County for 15 years. As a forest ecologist, he worked for the California Coastal Commission; she taught third grade. Rick was hired by California State Parks to manage the natural and cultural resources of the park system. They have three children and have been in Arden Park, Sacramento for 30 years. Rick first exposure to poetry was our EcoPoetics class this summer
Melinda Rivasplata holds a BA in Environmental Biology and has worked in the fields of environmental education, resource management, land use planning, and environmental compliance. She began studying and writing poetry about 10 years ago. Her poems have been published in the Sacramento Poetry Center Anthology, Late Peaches and in the blog, yogastanza.org.. One of her poems has recently been accepted for publication in “The Biggest Valley: Poems from California’s Heartland”.
Heather Judy is a poet and artist living in Sacramento. She received her MFA from Mills College in Oakland in 2009. Her work has appeared in various publications such as the California Quarterly, Flatmancrooked’s Thin Volume of American Poetry, and the Tule Review. When not writing, painting, or teaching, she can be found eco-poetically climbing the treetops of Midtown.
Joyce Hsiao is an environmental engineer married to a poet. She took a poetry class from J. Kent Clark 44 years ago, and since then has attended scores of poetry readings, including readings by Allen Ginsberg, Galway Kinnell, Billy Collins, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, W.S. Merwin, and Bob Stanley. As an environmental engineer, she has published over 100 environmental documents. This is her first foray into writing poetry.
Buddy Lamorey works at KVIE and is finishing at Sac State as an Economics Major, Creative Writing Minor. He’s also a musician and will be releasing two albums of solo piano and electronic music in Fall as Buddydigital.
Connie Gutowsky’s poems and essays have appeared in literary journals, a chapbook, and travel books. A Collection of her poetry, Play, was published in 2013 by Random Lane Press. She was an associate editor of Tule Review in 2014 and 2015. She is a retired criminal defense attorney.
