About Robert

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Photo by John J. Campbell

Robert Peake grew up on the U.S.-Mexico border, in the small desert farming town of El Centro, California. He earned his BA in English, emphasis poetry from U.C. Berkeley in 1999, graduating as both a Regents’ & Chancellor’s Scholar and an Alumni Leadership Scholar. He received a Doctorate in Spiritual Science from Peace Theological Seminary and College of Philosophy in 2007. He recently completed the MFA In Writing Program at Pacific University in Oregon, where was selected by the faculty to give the student speech at commencement.

Robert received honorable mentions in both the Rattle Poetry Prize and the Atlantic Monthly Student Writing Contest. He was also a finalist in the 2007 James Hearst Poetry Prize, and a runner up in the 2009 Indiana Review Poetry Prize. His work has appeared in Askew, California Quarterly, Cider Press Review, Fairfield Review, The Long-Islander, North American Review, Oregon Literary Review, PoetryBay, San Pedro River Review, Silk Road, Sugar Mule, the Beyond The Valley Of The Contemporary Poets 2004 anthology and Open Windows–an anthology of award-winning Southern California poets sponsored in part by the NEA.

He has been a featured reader at Beyond Baroque in Venice, The World Stage in Los Angeles, The Bell Arts Factory and Artists’ Union Gallery in Ventura, and The Village Jester Pub and Farmer & Cook in Ojai. He has given guest lectures on poetry at Mt. St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles, The Ojai Center For The Arts, and The Brooks Institute.

Robert lives in Ojai, California with his wife, Valerie and cat, Miranda.

What People Are Saying:

“Thank you so much for your talk and reading at the Art Center. I felt elated well into the next day.”

“Robert has a calm, focused and direct stage presence that captivated the standing-room-only crowd.”

“When Robert Peake stepped into the spotlight, I knew something important was about to happen. Then he spoke of seduction, and I, too, was seduced by his muse.”

“Robert Peake, Ojai’s most distinguished poet this century, thinks deeply and writes beautifully about topics that only poetry has the means to bring down to earth.”