Mark was born in Olathe, Kansas in 1963. He graduated from Kansas State with multiple degrees in the earth sciences and set off to work with the U.S. EPA prior to pursuing a PhD in Science Education at the University of Kansas. He developed a love for poetry while serving as an NSF Science Fellow in the Kansas City, Kansas Public School District where he employed haiku writing as a form of lerning assessment. His debut book of poems, Jump Joint & Other Scribbles is a deep reflection of the inner workings of the onion bulb. While a working vacation along the harvest trail in the Land Down Under inspired Australia - Haiku'd Adventures in Oz. Mark has recieved turn downs from the likes of the Atlantic and the New York Magazines and has made their regressions public in his latest collection of short stories Spilt Apples: Knotted Shoutouts from Marge's Pet Shop. He and his beagle Snoopy live an amazingly intrepid life along the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois.