Roger Housden, a native of Bath, England, immigrated to the United States in 1998. He calls himself a lifelong student of the beauty of the word. He is the author of several works of nonfiction, including the Ten Poems series of reflections on poetry, and gives occasional public recitals of ecstatic poetry from the world’s great literary and spiritual traditions. Roger has led contemplative journeys in the Sahara Desert, India, and the United States, and has written about his own travels to sacred sites in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and America. While living in England, he founded the Open Gate, a holistic workshop and conference program. He now makes his home in the Bay Area of California.