His newest poetry book, River Walker, was published in October 2012 by Mountains and Rivers Press (donated to the San Diego Public Library, and the San Diego Mesa College Library.)

Joyce Jenkins, editor/publisher of POETRY FLASH, selected his poem "Jacob Describes the Man Behind the Counter" as one of five runners up from over 900 entries at the 2011 Beyond Baroque Poetry Contest in Venice, CA.  F.J. Bergmann, Poetry Editor of Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, nominated his "Initiation Poem" for the Best of the Net 2010. Christine Klocek-Lim, editor of Autumn Sky Poetry, nominated his poem, “The Last Wild Otter Near Otter Crest, Oregon, 1906” for Best of the Net 2009. 

His creative nonfiction essays have appeared in the Sunday Oregonian, The Raven Chronicles, Drunken Boat, Front Range (formerly MO: Writings from the River), and The Trumpeter Journal of Ecosophy at Athabasca University.  He has an essay forthcoming in The Owen Wister Review at The University of Wyoming.

His claywork is at The Trumpeter Journal of Ecosophy, and Untitled Country Review (cover art called Steelhead Harp) (plus 2, 3, 4).  His new work was recently in  Columbia River Gallery and White Wolf Sanctuary.

His newest poems are at rfishc.com, In Other Words: Merida, Otis Nebula, Arsenic Lobster, Untitled Country Review Issue 6, cur.ren.cy, , NICHE,  Untitled Country Review Issue 2, The Portland Review, Blue Lotus Review, Pemmican, The Orange Room Review, The Oregonian, The Found Poetry Review, Western Press Books’ Eccentricities of Geography, Two Thirds North (Stockholm University), Cream City Review's theme issue, "Dispatches from the Front: Labor and the Fight For Worker’s Rights," Future Cycle Press Anthology: American Society: What Poets See edited by David Chorlton and Robert S. King, and the July 2012 Blue Begonia Press Poetry Pole in Yakima, Washington.  He has poems forthcoming at The Los Angeles Review, Flycatcher: A Journal of Native Imagination, Atticus Review, and Spillway's theme issue, "Nature Red in Tooth and Claw."

In addition to serving as Creative Writing Coordinator, Starbuck is the World Literature Coordinator.  He said World Literature, Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, and Poetry Seminar are his favorite classes to teach as a Professor of English at San Diego Mesa College.  When he is not teaching or writing, he hikes in Oregon or communes with dolphin yoga masters in the waters off Encinitas.

Ron Israel, Intermediate Fiction Writing, Fundamentals of Fiction Writing, and Intro to Creative Writing, American Literature

I’m Ron Israel. When I’m not teaching, grading essays, or doing other school related work, I spend my time with my wife and two kids. In rare spare moments I practice tai chi and plunk around on the guitar. I also write short fiction, having been most recently published in SDSU’s Pacific Review.

If I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that destinations are far less important than journeys. This moment on this path is what matters most.

For those seeking the typical background information: I joined the Mesa College English department in the Spring of 1997, after spending the previous six years as an adjunct instructor, teaching throughout San Diego County. At Mesa, I have taught composition, creative writing, and American Literature. Most of my current teaching load consists of humanities courses, though I continue to teach at least one English course each semester, including creative writing, American Lit, and Honors English 101, which is offered every fall semester. I earned a B.A. in psychology from the University of Arizona and a Master of Arts degree in English from San Diego State University. I am in final stages of completing a Master of Arts degree in humanities from CSU, Dominguez Hills.

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Pianta, Poetry, Intro to Creative Writing

Originally from Hawai’i, Pianta lives in San Diego but still considers Hilo home. She has a Master’s degree in English as a Second Language and a Bachelor’s degree in English. She’s studied with a range of writers such as James Wright, Galway Kinnell, Diane Wakoski, Oakley Hall and others. Her work has appeared most recently in publications such as Bamboo Ridge Press and Ekphrasis.

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