Willis Barnstone is a poet, translator, biblical scholar, memoirist, anthologist, teacher, and painter. He is a former O’Connor Professor of Greek at Colgate University, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature at Indiana University, a Guggenheim Fellow, and winner of numerous literary awards, including the Emily Dickinson, Lannon, and W. H. Auden awards. In 2015 he was recipient of the Fred Cody Lifetime Achievement Award. He is translator of the Greek Lyric Poets, a literary historical version of the New Testament, and poets as diverse as Sappho, Rainer Maria Rilke, Jorge Luis Borges, Antonio Machado, Wang Wei, and St. John of the Cross.

Barnstone’s life’s work includes over 75 books including With Borges on an Ordinary Evening in Buenos Aires (University of Illinois Press 1999), The Poems of Jesus Christ (W.W. Norton & Company 2012), The Poetics of Ecstasy: Varieties of Ekstasis from Sappho to Borges (Holmes & Meier Pub 1983), The Poetics of Translation: History, Theory, Practice (Yale University Press 1995), Sappho and the Greek Lyric Poets (Pantheon 1988), The Other Bible (HarperOne 2005), The Apocalypse (editor, translator) (New Directions 2000), The Gnostic Bible (Shambhala 2009), The Restored New Testament: A New Translation with Commentary, Including the Gnostic Gospels Thomas, Mary, and Judas (W.W. Norton and Company 2009) and A Book of Women Poets from Antiquity to Now (editor with Aiki Barnstone) (Schocken1992)

Interview Date: 3/9/2015 Tags: Willis Barnstone, cafes, conversation, poetic word, poetry, The Good Beasts, prose, Jesus as poet, Arts & Creativity

Eric Maisel, Ph.D. is a licensed family therapist, a creativity coach, and author of more than 40 books. He also conducts writing workshops and trains creativity coaches. His books include Life Purpose Boot Camp: The 8 Week Breakthrough Plan for Creating a Meaningful Life (New World Library 2014), Secrets of a Creativity Coach (Motivational Press 2014), Why Smart People Hurt (Conari Press 2013, Fearless Creating (Tarcher 1995), Van Gogh's Blues: The Creative Person's Path Through Depression (New World Library 2007), Mastering Creative Anxiety (New World Library 2011), Making Your Creative Mark (New World Library 2013), Natural Psychology: The New Psychology of Meaning (Natural Psychology Press 2012), Rethinking Depression (New World Library 2012), Brainstorm: Harnessing The Power of Productive Obsessions (New World Library 2010), Creativity For Life (New World Library 2007) and Coaching the Artist Within (New World Library 2005)

Interview Date: 1/15/2015 Tags: Eric Maisel, writing, creativity, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, DSM5, mental health reform, morning writing, meaning boost

Margaret Wheatley is an internationally acclaimed writer, speaker, and teacher. She began caring about the world's peoples in 1966 as a Peace Corps volunteer in postwar Korea. She is cofounder and President Emerita of The Berkana Institute, a charitable foundation that works with people around the world to strengthen their communities using the wisdom and wealth already present in their people, traditions, and environment. She is a guide in leading people back to understanding who we are as humans, being able to create the conditions for our basic qualities of generosity, contribution, community, and love. She is a grand contributor in creating an Island of Sanity in the midst of wildly disruptive seas. Her books include Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World (Berrett-Koehler 1992), Perseverance (Berrett-Kohler 2010), Turning To One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope in the Future (Berrett-Koehler 2009), So Far from Home: Lost and Found in Our Brave New World (Berrett-Koehler 2012) and Who Do We Choose To Be: Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity (Berrett-Koehler 2017).

Interview Date: 8/19/2010