Biography of Joseph D. Milosch

Biography of Joseph Milosch

    In the mid-1990s, Joseph became the Area Coordinator for the California Poets in the Schools (CPITS). He trained poet teachers in etiquette and techniques for teaching students from grades 1 through 12. Part of their training included observing him teaching as a poet teacher. When they entered his classroom, he introduced them as poets and mentioned their second job, which allowed them to pay the rent. For example, Joe is a poet and a construction inspector. His introduction allowed the students to view poet-teachers as artists working in the community.
    One of the best parts of CPIT’s poet-teachers is the diversity of the teachers. The teachers came from different cultures: Native American, African, Asian, Chicano, Mexican, Chilean, Mid-eastern Western European, and Eastern European. They are poets who work many different jobs to support their art. This mixture of ethnic and occupational diversity of the poet-teachers made his tenure as an Area Coordinator an enjoyable and stimulating experience, and the multicultural/multi-voiced teachers produced superb student poetry. He left teaching to focus on his job in construction when the health of his wife deteriorated. Still, he remembers those days as the most fulfilling time of his life. Eventually, he retired to care for his wife, and with the help of his family, he took a writing course with the San Diego poet Steve Kowit. Steve helped him to regain his passion for poetry, social justice, and life. Unfortunately, Steve died six months before Joe’s wife, Patsy, died.
    After Steve’s passing, his friend and fellow poet, Jim Moreno, approached him with the idea of compiling a posthumous collection of Steve Kowit’s poetry. They asked Steve’s wife, Mary, to join them in composing a journal of Steve’s work. She agreed; then, they discussed his poems for two years. This project led to an exciting exploration of the poet, who they respected as a writer, a teacher, and a social activist. As Steve Kowit’s Selected Poems came to fruition, Donald Trump became president. Jim and Joe were at a poetry reading that night, and afterward, they talked about Steve’s social activism and how they missed his voice in these trying times. That night, they decided to recruit as many poets as possible to become part of a voter registration drive. They hoped to create an interest in the election by mixing poetry and topics of concern like police brutality, border issues, and other social justice concerns. During the next four years, Jim and Joe organized events with other activist groups like the Sierra Club. They called for poets to join them and held twenty get-out-the-vote events. After Joe Biden became president, they collected poems from the participating poets and published a journal of activist poetry. The multi-national and multicultural poets came from Tijuana, Mexico — Waco, Texas — Seattle, Washington, and San Diego, California.