Joel
Joel believes that all poems are love poems—else why spend the time to write them? He is an experienced systems engineer who believes in the power of words and the art of visual organization. In the eighth grade, Joel made the front page of the local newspaper’s metro section for writing a poem, submitting it to a poetry contest, and subsequently having it published by a vanity press—it was all the rage in the 90s. Fifteen years later, he would find poetry again at Da Poetry Lounge while attempting to escape the self-inflicted cruelties of full-time work and grad school. Joel grew up in Los Angeles to immigrant parents, enjoys most donuts, his cat, Sombra, and is committed to continuing DPL’s tradition of elevating people’s storytelling.