Fire and Paradise

I am a native Californian who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and now live in San Jose. My wife Patricia and I have an international, multi-cultural family, with nieces and nephews around the world. In writing poetry, I hope to contribute to God-inspired, gentle, and heartfelt social discourse, and to feed and express my artistic spirit. I look for the metaphors linking spiritual and physical reality, and for the subtleties in personal interactions that illuminate spiritual truths.

Sandra Lynn Hutchison is the author of a book of poetry, The Art of Nesting (George Ronald), a memoir, Chinese Brushstrokes: Stories of China (Turnstone Press), and numerous essays and articles. Her stories have appeared in anthologies such as Chinese Ink, Western Pen (Oxford University Press) and Where Art and Faith Converge (George Ronald). Her translation of Mahvash Sabet’s  A Tale of Love: More Prison Poems is forthcoming from George Ronald. Hutchison holds a Ph.D. in English literature, with a specialization in modern poetry, from the University of Toronto. She has taught at universities in Canada, Hong Kong, China, India, and the United States, most recently at the University of Maine.   For more than two decades now, Hutchison has taught courses through the Wilmette Institute, including “Finding the Hidden Gift: An Approach to Studying the Baha’i Writings,” “Writing about the Writings: The Art and Craft of the Personal Reflection Piece,” and “Gifts of the Spirit: The Spiritual Practice of Creative Writing.” She has also offered courses on the writings of Shoghi Effendi and on writing creative content for the #OurStoryIsOne campaign. Hutchison also teaches essay writing and journalism to students enrolled in the Bahá’í Institute of Higher Education. She has been the recipient of various academic awards and literary recognitions, including a Killam Fellowship, a Jane Kenyon Poetry Fellowship from Bennington College, and an Emily Dickinson Poetry Prize from Universities West Press. Her most recent chapbook of poems, The Beautiful Foolishness of Things, was a finalist in the Poet’s Corner Chapbook Contest. Hutchison teaches scriptural exegesis through the Wilmette Institute and writing to students enrolled in the Bahá’í Institute of Higher Education. She is the founder and editor of elixir-journal.org, an online journal of the arts. Sandra’s articles on BahaiTeachings.org Listen to Sandra’s interview on BahaiPodcast.comSee Faculty Bio