A professional geologist, Kopaska-Merkel lives at 1300 Kicker Rd., Tuscaloosa AL 35404 with his wife, Sheila Marie (an excellent illustrator!), 2 children, 3 cats and one dog; he can be reached by e.mail at dragontea@earthlink.net or by phone number at 205-553-2284. Born in Charlottesville, Pennsylvania, 11 January 1957, Kopaska-Merkel is a quarter of an inch under five feet eight, weighs 155 and is right-handed. His ethnic background is Jewish, his religion agnostic, his politics moderately left; his income, to finish with his minorest vital stats, is $43,000 a year.

Kopaska-Merkel got his B.S. (in geology/biology) at William and Mary in 1978. Five years later he earned his Ph.D in geology at the University of Kansas. Writing and publishing are his vocations, fossil collecting, reading and collecting the works of Walt Kelly, his hobbies.

Two contemporary poets in particular are important to Kopaska-Merkel: Wendy Rathbone and W. Gregory Stewart; the two poets of yesteryear he names as important to him are Walt Kelly and Dr. Seuss. He recommends two websites for listing in the Comprepoetica dictionary: his own site at http://home.earthlink.net/~dragontea/index.html and the Science Fiction Poetry Ass'n web site: http://dm.net/~bejay/sfpa.htm

Concerning other arts besides poetry, he says, "I have few favorites because I like many works. Those that stand out include "Lord of Light," by Roger Zelazny, "The Lord of the Rings," by J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Pogo books by Walt Kelly, especially "Potluck Pogo." Beyond this I'm at a loss, I like too many different kinds of music, paintings, etc., to pick favorites." About science and philosophy, he says, "I am a professional geologist, and planned to become a scientist for as long as I can remember. I have considerable training in biology, but a reluctance to torture animals led me into geology, and specifically paleontology, where the animals are already dead. My current research involves fossil reefs and related bioconstructions. I love science because I love discovery." Although he enjoys watching gymnastics and ice skating, he is not an active participant in any sport, to speak of.

In reply to the Comprepoetica survey question about life-in-general, Kopaska-Merkel said, "I'm happy with my life. As far as I can see, it keeps getting better." He was less sanguine about the current state of the world: "Our civilization has almost certainly doomed itself, though I'm not sure the collapse will come in my lifetime. The earth will survive without us, and will likely be better off. I think individuals can make a difference but I'm pessimistic that enough of us will act."

Kopaska-Merkel is a member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. He has had the following chapbooks published:

underfoot, Runaway Spoon Press
A Round White Hole, dbqp Press
The Conspiracy Unmasked, Dark Regions Press
hunger, Preternatural Press
In the Land of Princesses, Indolent Dragon Press
Y2K Survival Kit, Smoldering Banyan Press (1999)

He had many poems published in such magazines as Twisted, Night Cry, Eldritch Tales, Scavenger's Newsletter, Xenophilia, frisson, Not One of Us, Intermix, Eternity online, Chaos Butterfly, Ibn Qirtaiba, Dark Planet, Prelude to Fantasy, Star*Line and 2AM For a sample of Kopaska-Merkel's poetry, click here to see "mother language sky." He would appreciate any feedback on this poem or any of his others.

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