The Poetry Marathon

Harvey Schwartz
Harvey Schwartz

Harvey Schwartz Statement of Purpose Biography I grew up in a suburban Philadelphia area much like Archie Bunker’s. I was a Jewish kid in a predominantly Catholic neighborhood. I didn’t like Hebrew School, because it separated me from many of my friends. A priest told my friends not to play with me. This and other related events created a paradox. I felt compelled to defend the religion that I didn’t embrace. I tried to disprove the stereotypes that crashed upon me like waves at high tide. Jewish kids aren’t athletic or tough were the only ones I could address and it energized me every time I crashed the boards playing basketball. But it also taught me that the world didn’t owe me success. My love of sports was also a saving grace from the boring life that seemed preordained. I had to study science, which I hated, in order to get into a pre-dental program in college. By then I might have come to my senses sans the carrot of a Vietnam War draft exemption. I bit hard. Going to Woodstock changed me. And a year later my draft lottery number was high enough to free me. But being a slow learner, I thought I’d give dental school a try, since I’d already been accepted. I didn’t last a quarter. I spontaneously quit. Then I joined a hippy commune, which segued into a nine thousand mile hitch hiking adventure that crossed Canada and included Alaska, Oregon and California. I never returned to live in the east. And many hitching adventures followed. In 1973 I returned to college for teacher training and became a tutor/councilor for Lummi Indian kids in Bellingham, WA. Then I taught in a school run by an internationally known (but under the radar locally) psychic, on Orcas Island, WA. This was followed by a one year stint teaching fifth grade in a tiny town on the Yakama Indian Reservation, where I learned more than I taught. Next was a vision quest of sorts back to Orcas Island. I pitched a tipi with the intention of staying there until I knew my next step. I happened upon a chiropractic office and the subsequent chain of events led to a twenty five year career as a chiropractor. My life and practice were featured in a cover story of Chiropractic Economics in 2003. My wife Colleen was doing a vision quest of her own on neighboring San Juan Island during mine on Orcas. We were married on Leap Year Day in 1976. Colleen and our children Jerome and Devan are all accomplished writers. I retired in 2004 and the next years were focused on travel, my garden, and being part of an Improv group. In 2010 I went to hear a lecture at Western Washington University on the wrong day. I somehow came home enrolled in two creative writing classes. I was quickly hooked. I appreciate the exceptional opportunity writing affords me to reflect and write about what I’ve experienced and learned. It’s a lot like Improv, but without the speed factor. Coaching from professors helps me tell a better story and classmate feedback is invaluable. I still enjoy the luxury of frequent and widespread travel while the garden that I’m trying to simplify seems to keep getting bigger. Randomness, dilemmas, paradoxes, and peripheral vision are a big part of my writing palette. My goal is to paint a picture that is insightful, enjoyable, and artistic.