Zoller, James A. 1948–

PERSONAL: Born November 7, 1948, in Laramie, WY; son of Harold (a civil engineer and professor) and Belle (a homemaker; maiden name, Nordstrom) Zoller; married June 6, 1970; wife's name, Donna (a teacher); children: Dylan, Kaitlin Zoller Erokson, Ian, Stefan. Ethnicity: "Scots-Irish, German, Dutch, Swedish." Education: University of New Hampshire, B.A., 1971; San Francisco State University, M.A., 1973; State University of New York—Albany, D.A., 1984. Politics: "None." Religion: Christian Hobbies and other interests: Woodworking, gardening, music, sports.

ADDRESSES: Home—9800 Seymour St., Houghton, NY 14744. Office—Department of English, Houghton College, 1 Willard Ave., Houghton, NY 14744. E-mail—james.zoller@houghton.edu.

CAREER: University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, lecturer, 1973–81; Russell Sage College, Troy, NY, member of adjunct faculty, 1981–84; Houghton College, Houghton, NY, professor of writing and literature, 1984–.

WRITINGS:

Simple Clutter (poetry), Mellen Poetry Press (Lewiston, NY), 1998.

Columnist for Wellsville Daily Reporter. Contributor of short stories, poetry, and articles to periodicals.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Crossing the River, a composition textbook; Lucky Jim, a collection of selected columns and essays.

SIDELIGHTS: James A. Zoller told CA: "My publishing career has been circumscribed both by my immersion in family life and by the constraints of teaching. I am by no means unusual. Not surprisingly, my writing often concerns itself with where and how I have lived. I have lived for twenty years in a very small town, in a poor and rural county, concerned mostly with raising my four kids. My most recent poetry has concerned itself with marriage, since my three oldest children have all married in the last few years.

"There are no simple answers to questions about my motivations for writing, who has influenced me, how my writing process works. I have been influenced by nearly every writer I have read, and I read all the time. I write because it is what I can do and because my writing has been affirmed often enough by readers to make me think I might continue. I work with language the same way composers work with music; it's all sound, rhythm, arrangements, and approaches, working with emotion and idea until what is shaped meets my standards of craft, until I can affirm that this new thing can and should be said.

"That description is abstract and elusive. I work with humor, humility, and diligence at the writing, but only with great effort at getting into print."