Each Thing We Know Is Changed Because We Know It, and Other Poems
(Kevin Hearle's collection Each Thing We Know Is Changed B...)
Kevin Hearle's collection Each Thing We Know Is Changed Because We Know It explores the writer's sense of identity against the backdrop of his Southern California hometown--what it was and what it is now and, ultimately, what that change means to him. In these poems we see a love-hate relationship with a land that has become a stranger to him before his eyes. Hearle is a native of Santa Ana, the town known for its winds which once fed the wild California brushfires, but now "Sweeps away the L.A. smog, a haze which is the air of millions."
Kevin James Hearle, American poet, California LIterature scholar, educator, editor. Author of _Each Thing We Know Is Changed Because We Know It, and Other Poems_. Revision editor of Viking Critical Library 2nd edition of John Steinbeck's _The Grapes of Wrath: Text and Criticism_. Co-editor of _Beyond Boundaries: Rereading John Steinbeck_. Editor of _The Essential Mary Austin_. Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, 2008-2013.
Background
Ethnicity:
His maternal grandfather was Irish Catholic. His maternal grandmother was of English, Huguenot French and Scots descent. HIs paternal grandmother was of German (perhaps Jewish) and mixed Northern European descent. His paternal grandfather was of Northumbrian and mixed Northern European descent.
Hearle, Kevin James was born on March 17, 1958 in Santa Ana, California, United States. Son of H. David and L. Patricia (Flaherty) Hearle.
Education
Bachelor of Arts in English with distinction, Stanford University, 1980. Master of Fine Arts in English, University Iowa, 1983. Master of Arts in Literature, University California, Santa Cruz, 1990.
Doctor of Philosophy in Literature, University California, Santa Cruz, 1991.
Career
Poet, since 1979; teaching assistant University California, Santa Cruz, 1987-1991, lecturer, 1993, 98, San Jose (California) State University, 1992-1994, California State University.A., 95-96. Poet-in-the-schools Iowa Center for the Arts, Iowa City, 1982. Teaching assistant University Iowa, Iowa City, 1982-1983.
Instructor Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1983-1984. Participant National Endowment for Humanities Summer Seminar on American Indian Literature, University Illinois, Chicago, 1994.
Achievements
Founding Member of the Editorial Board of _The Steinbeck Newsletter_, 1995-2000.
Founding Member of the Editorial Board of _Steinbeck Studies_, 2001.
Founding Member of the Editorial Board of _The Steinbeck Review_, 2003-present.
(Kevin Hearle's collection Each Thing We Know Is Changed B...)
Other Work
Author: Each Thing We Know Is Changed Because We Know It and Other Poems, 1994. Poetry co-editor Quarry West, 1988-1992. Reviewer American Literature, since 1992, We.American Literature, since 1992, Steinbeck Newsletter, since 1992. Editorial board Steinbeck Newsletter, since 1995. Assistant editor Viking Critical Library Edition of The Grapes of Wrath, second edition, 1995.Contributor poetry and articles to journals.
Politics
A progressive Democrat, in 2006 he ran for the Democratic Party nomination for the United States House of Representatives (opposing 13-term incumbent Tom Lantos) on a platform calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. Despite spending less than $800 on his campaign, he received over 6,000 votes, and came in second (out of three candidates) in the Democratic Primary Election. In local politics he led the successful effort advocating for the City of San Mateo to create a public art program with a dedicated funding source. He was subsequently appointed to the Civic Arts Committee which directed that program, serving on that committee from August 2008 through July 2014.
Membership
Member of Academy of American Poets, Poetry Society of America, John Steinbeck Society. Former member of: Board of Directors of City Arts San Mateo (1997-2005), Modern Language Association, Robinson Jeffers Association, Western Literature Association, PEN (Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists association) Center United States of America West.
Personality
Physical Characteristics:
6 foot 2 inches tall as a young man (6 foot 1 inch tall by his 50s) with broad shoulders, skinny legs and a generally well-trimmed beard. He has hazel eyes, ruddy cheeks, and as a young man his hair was naturally curly and dark brown with a few red hairs. In his 50s, his beard turned salt-and-pepper and his hair turned gray at the temples.
Quotes from others about the person
Kevin Starr--"A genuine poetic talent connected to California in a most powerful way."
Jennifer O'Connell--"HIs own demographic."
Larry Levis--"the poet is so gifted."
Connections
Married Elizabeth Ellen Henderson, November 26, 1983.
Father:
H. David Hearle
Born August 18, 1924 in Los Angeles, California. Died March 4, 2006 in Victorville, California.
Mother:
L. Patricia (Flaherty) Hearle
Born December 21, 1931 in Santa Ana, California. Died May 23, 2015 in Anaheim, California.
