John Oliver Simon, PIO Artistic Director - Mr. Simon has earned degrees from the Putney School, Swarthmore College (Highest Honors, 1964) and the University of California, Berkeley (M.A., 1966). His books of poetry include Roads to Dawn Lake (Oyez, 1968); Rattlesnake Grass (Hanging Loose, 1976), Neither of Us Can Break the Other’s Hold (Shameless Hussy, 1982), Lord of the House of Dawn (Bombshelter Press, 1991), Son caminos (poems in Spanish, Hotel Ambosmundos, Mexico City, 1997) and Caminante (Creative Arts, 2002). He has published more than 300 translations of contemporary Latin American poets in journals and anthologies in the United States, and received an NEA Literature Fellowship in translation in 2001 for his work with the great Chilean poet Gonzalo Rojas. He has worked with California Poets in the Schools since 1971 and served as Executive Director of that program 1978-81. He planned and implemented the California Heritage program, combining poetry with the resources of the Oakland Museum (1982-85) and Poesía a través de las Fronteras, working with local poets in Mexico City and the Museo Nacional de Antropología (1985-86). He worked as a bilingual teacher at La Escuelita in Oakland (1986-1995) and taught at Berkwood Hedge School (1998-2000). Since 2001, Mr. Simon has worked as an instructor with Poetry Inside Out, an in-school poetry and translation program of the Center for the Art of Translation.

John can be reached directly by sending email to: josimon@catranslation.org

 

-->Stacy McKenna, PIO Program Manager - Stacy McKenna graduated from Mills College with an MFA in English and Creative Writing in 2002. Her literary translations have appeared in 580 Split; A Journal of Arts and Literature, Codols in New York, and The Other Poetry of Barcelona; Spanish and Spanish-American Women Poets, as well as other smaller, independent journals. She has taught English and English as a Second Language in Bay Area community colleges, public elementary schools, and private language schools as well as federal programs such as Upward Bound. She has traveled, lived, taught, and studied abroad. She is currently working on a collection of her own short stories.

Stacy can be reached by sending email to: smckenna@catranslation.org

 

Anita Sagástegui, PIO Instructor - Anita Sagástegui has worked for several years in the nonprofit community, both professionally and as a volunteer. Her experience with nonprofits ranges from environmental grant-making to teaching creative writing to 6th graders. She is also a freelance translator of Spanish and French. Anita Sagástegui received her degree in Writing and Literature from UC San Diego with minors in Spanish and French Literature. Currently she is completing an M.A. in Counseling Psychology and Expressive Arts Therapy. She is a native Spanish speaker and fluent in French.

Anita can be reached directly by sending email to: asagastegui@catranslation.org