Biography

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Date of birth: March 18, 1937

Date of death: April 13, 2021

Place of birth: Bakersfield, California

Hometown: Oildale, California

Married to: Janice Pettichord

  • Children: 5
  • Grandchildren: 14

Religion: Roman Catholic

 

Education:

  • Ph.D. -- 1980, The Union Institute & University Graduate School of Cincinnati, Ohio. Dissertation: The Craft of the Short Story, plus a collection of original short fiction, The Wages of Sin, with Caroline Shrodes, Roy Fairfield, Peter Radetsky, Gerald Rosen, Dorothy Overly, and Susan Oliviera.
  • M.A. -- 1965, San Francisco State University of San Francisco, California. Thesis paper: The Language of the Oilfields, with S.I. Hayakawa and Richard Bratset.
  • B.A. -- 1963, San Francisco State University of San Francisco, California.

Also attended:

  • Bakersfield [Junior] College
  • Sacramento State College
  • Washington State University
  • High School: Garces Memorial of Bakersfield, California. Graduated in 1955.

 

Academic Appointments:

  • Instructor of English, San Francisco State College, 1966-67
  • Professor of English, Sonoma State University, 1967-1997
  • Adjunct Professor, The National Faculty, 1984-date
  • Adjunct Professor, Union Graduated School, 1984-date
  • Professor Emeritus, Sonoma State University, 1997-date
  • Adjunct Professor, Fromm Institute, University of San Francisco, 2001-2015

 

Other Appointments:

  • Commentator, "The California Report," KQED-FM, 1997-2004
  • Contributing Writer, West (Los Angeles Times magazine), 2006-2008
  • Adjunct Professor, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute 2003-2015
  • Columnist, This World (San Francisco Chronicle magazine)
  • Contributing Writer, Sacramento Bee (2012-date)

 

Membership in Professional Organizations:

  • California Studies Association (Steering Committee; founding member)
  • Western Literature Association (Board of Directors; past-President)
  • CSU Emeritus and Retired Faculty Association
  • MELUS (Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States; founding member)
  • Friends of Steinbeck

 

Membership in Community Organizations:

  • St. James Catholic Church, Petaluma CA.
  • San Francisco State University Alumni Association (life member)
  • Union Institute Alumni Association (life member)
  • Sierra Club
  • Nature Conservancy
  • California Trout (Founding Member)
  • Save-the-Redwoods League
  • Yosemite Association (Board of Trustees)
  • Tulare Basin Archeology Group
  • Defenders of Wildlife
  • The Environmental Defense Fund

 

Biographical references (partial list):

  • Who's Who in the World
  • Who's Who in America
  • Who's Who in the West
  • Dictionary of Literary Biography
  • Contemporary Authors
  • Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series
  • International Authors and Writers Who's Who
  • Western Writers Series (Boise State University)
  • Updating the Literary West

 

Hobbies and Interests: bicycling, hiking, fly-fishing, napping, playing with grandchildren