Joseph Featherstone
Joseph Featherstone was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and grew up in post- war Japan. A Harvard graduate, he has been many things: a political activist (speechwriter for the anti-Vietnam War candidate, Sen. Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 Democratic primaries), and for many years a literary critic and editor of The New Republic, where he also wrote about politics and education. He served as the headmaster of the Commonwealth School in Boston. He has taught at Harvard, Brown, and Michigan State, where he and his colleagues pioneered a progressive, school-based teacher education program, about which he co-authored a book with Helen Featherstone and other colleagues, Transforming Teacher Education: Reflections from the Field (Harvard Education Press, 2007). He has written a number of other books on education, including Dear Josie: Witnessing the Hopes and Failures of Democratic Education (Teachers College Press, 2003) This book was declared a distinguished foreign contribution to education, and was translated and published by the East China Normal University Press in Shanghai. Besides The New Republic his writings and poems have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic, The Harvard Education Review, Ploughshares, The Harvard Review, and The Nation. His first poetry collection is Brace’s Cove (New Issues, 2000). He convenes regular meetings of the Off Season, a poetry group in Cambridge, Mass, and is active in the Gloucester Writers Center. He is married to the writer and educator, Helen Featherstone. They have three grown children and 5 grandchildren.
Regie Gibson
"Regie, when you perform, you are supersonic and in the stratosphere, where you can see that the Earth really is a ball, moist, blue-green. Regie, you sing and chant for all of us. Nobody gets left out." -Kurt Vonnegut
Poet, songwriter, author, workshop facilitator, and educator Regie Gibson has performed, taught, and lectured at schools, universities, theaters and various other venues on two continents and in seven countries including Havana Cuba. Regie and his work appear in the New Line Cinema film love jones, based largely on events in his life. The poem entitled "Brother to the Night (A Blues for Nina)" appears on the movie soundtrack and is performed by the film's star, Larenz Tate. Regie performed "Hey Nappyhead" in the film with world-renowned percussionist and composer Kahil El Zabar, composer of the score for The Lion King musical.
To learn more about Regie Gibson, see his full biography in the link below:
Heidi Wakeman
“Let’s not waste a good crisis.”
Heidi Wakeman has been writing and evaluating since the fifth grade, when each day in her diary received a letter grade. These days she is less interested in grading, and more interested in gratitude. Heidi is an educator, poet, naturalist, community activist, Gen-Xer, feminist, mother, wife, recovering perfectionist.