Light Through the Pines
My second collection of poetry available now at Amazon.com
Steven Leake
Biography
I have lived an unconventional life. Born in Charlotte, NC in1986 to two public school teachers, my parents exposed my sister and I to a variety of experiences instilling in us a love for nature exploring the woods and creeks near our home, domestic and international travel and supporting us in our athletic endeavors, they even built a regulation size youth baseball/softball field on our property. That field is where I further honed my baseball skills and gave my team at the time a place to practice. Home was a family farm in York, SC where I attended the York public school system. Active in both academics and athletics, I was the quintessential “All American” high school student earning many academic accolades as well as nine varsity letters in three sports. In 2007 I became a semi-finalist for the PEN Emerging Voices Fellowship.In 2016 I was recognized by the Southern Poverty Law Center for advocating tolerance in my work. In the winter of 2017, I spent several months in Iowa City on a pilgrimage to the Iowa Writer's Workshop where I couch surfed with Iowa poetry professor and Fulbright winner, Jake Montgomery and my best friend from York, Robert McFarland. The time spent in Iowa was akin to an awakening as that experience instilled in me the drive to pursue writing full-time which ironically was never in "the plan." Why and how my life was changed is contained in some of my writings.
Thanx Dub
A special thank you to:
Steve Leake Sr. for help with the website
Mom , Lesley and the Leake and Walker Families
Allison Black for endless inspiration
Clint Alexander for his mentorship and critiques
Stephanie Schwartz for her cover art on "Light Through the Pines"