We are urban dwellers. Literary Consorts. We eat lean protein, whole grains and dark chocolate. Drink wine. Wear linen, and hats. Walk our errands. Read, research, write and photograph. Seek to thrive with our sensitivities every day.
Cathy Capozzoli
Writer. Yogi. Poet. Paper Artist.
Some of my earliest memories are of words: both reading and writing. I wrote words on walls; first with crayons in the dining room, later with water and a paint brush on cinder block walls under the back porch. Then on notebooks (paper) and notebooks (computers).
My first degree is in English Literature from Duquesne University. My second is a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing + Poetics from Naropa University.
I began my career as a journalist, a writer and columnist for newspapers and magazines. I moved on to promotional work for institutions including Make-A-Wish Foundation and National Geographic PBS Specials; schools including The Community High School of the Bay (San Francisco); and corporations in the Fortune 500.
My creative work is found in regional and national publications, on the Internet, and in two chapbooks “Solstice Windows” and (coming soon) “Tenth Sky.” I edited the anthology “Many Mountains Moving: the Literature of Spirituality,” a collection of creative works from 88 writers and artists from six countries and many spiritual traditions. I am grateful that four of my poems were nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
I have led writing workshops at Lighthouse Writers and grant writing classes for community and charitable organizations. I studied natural foods cookery with Today’s Market and The Conscious Gourmet. I ran a community herb garden on the island of Kauai.
While my hands are instruments of writing, they also are instruments of healing. I am a State of California Certified Massage Therapist (CMT58030) who volunteers in the community. I hold a diploma in Massage Therapy and Asian Bodywork from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. I’ve studied hands-on healing practices including Reiki, Healing Touch, Jin Shin, Qi Gong and Chi Nei Tsang.
Along with language and words, paper and pens hold special fascination for me. Since 2012, I have practiced origami, working toward hand-folding 10,000 origami cranes.
I am a practitioner of yoga and meditation for more than two decades.
In addition to human sensitivity, I am vitally interested in healthy living, wellness and well-being; complementary, alternative and integrative medicine; and self-care and improving health with age.
Sherman Souther M.D.
Plastic surgeon (retired). Poet.
My mother lost both breasts to cancer when I was five. I knew then I wanted to be a surgeon. Two-room elementary school, small-town secondary schools, college, and medical school followed.
Two years at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, two years at the National Heart Institute at the National Institutes of Health, and four years at Stanford University, and I finished the job. In 1977, I became certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery.
For a short time, I was an Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Wisconsin. I spent the rest of my career as a plastic surgeon in private practice. During my training and in the years after, I participated in the writing of more than 30 published, peer-reviewed, scientific papers.
Body image, embodiment, words, and language inform my life.
Cervical disk disease brought an end to my surgical career. I turned to writing. Then came a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing + Poetics from Naropa University. Since then, I am grateful to have published a chapbook of poetry and had numerous poems included in print and on-line journals.
Although I have been highly sensitive forever, I have only recently become aware of the trait of it.
Why I found solace in the relative solitude of the operating room, on the golf course and at the keyboard, is no longer a mystery to me.
