Past That, Still There

Godbey, Geoffrey: - Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Geoffrey Godbey has lived many places in the Northeastern United States and Canada. His parents read poetry to him when he was a child and he came to love words, as did his father, seeing a way in them. His early writing was influenced by Robert Bly and, later, by W.S. Merwin. John Haag and Joseph Grucci taught him and US Poet Laureate Donald Hall tried to get a manuscript of his published. An early chapbook-The Midget On A Bicycle-was published by Mansfield Press. His poetry has also appeared in The Nation, The World and I, and many literary magazines. Godbey was a Festival Poet for the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. His poetry has also appeared in textbooks for public school students. Finishing Line Press published Finding Home in 2013. His roles in life have been diverse. Born legally blind, his vision got better. He has been a dancer on American Bandstand, a playground leader, a young husband and father of two daughters, a Viet Nam war protestor, professional drummer, tennis instructor, a Professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada and Penn State University, and an international traveller. His books on leisure, tourism and parks and recreation have sold over 100,000 copies. China has been a special interest in later life and he has visited the country more than a dozen times. A vegetarian for more than three decades, he is an avid vegetable gardener. The publishing company he co-founded, Venture Publishing, has been in business for 34 years. Godbey lives on a ridge in State College Pennsylvania and shares life with his partner the artist Barbara Metzner.