This is J. Quinn Brisben’s first blog, although he has been contributing poems to periodicals since 1967. He also writes stories and has contributed literally hundreds of articles, essays, and reviews to a wide variety of publications. He frequently lectures on cultural and political subjects. Born in Enid, Oklahoma, in 1934, he was schooled there and at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He held a wide variety of jobs before beginning his public school teaching career in 1959. He taught for thirty-two years, mostly high school history and social studies in inner city Chicago schools. He has traveled to every US state and 38 foreign countries. He is a veteran of the civil rights movement of the 1960s and many other progressive causes and is currently active for the rights of disabled persons. He was the Socialist Party USA candidate for president of the United States in 1992. He has been married since 1955 to the artist Andrea Brisben, whose Changing Woman Designs needlepoint canvases are in over 200 shops nationwide. They have two grown children (daughter Becky is the web designer responsible for this site) and three grandchildren. He currently is troubled by a malfunctioning atrial heart valve which leaves him with a very low energy level. He also is experiencing a rather high level of pain that drugs do not seem to touch, so this web site and blog are his best ways of communicating with his many friends and political comrades.

Buy a copy of Quinn’s latest book of poetry “Late Self Portraits”.

Collage by Andrea Brisben