Victor Pearn, Marine, award winning poet, and book publisher. A week after receiving an honorable discharge he became a student at Lincoln Land Community College. While a freshman he published his first two poems, and made the dean's list. Skipping his sophomore college year he entered Sangamon State University (SSU) in Springfield, Illinois as a junior. After a semester there, he spent the summer studying and writing in Madrid; he graduated from SSU with a double major in Individual Option. His degree in the Individual Option program was: People, Poets, and Institutions. He earned his MA in English Literature at Colorado University in 1983. Garrison Keillor has read his poems on the "Writer's Almanac," radio program. Pearn was invited to be Poet-in-Residence at Quincy University, in Illinois. In 2005 he established Pearn and Associates, a book publishing company which has published 61 titles by award winning authors. His poems have been published in more than 300 publications. His poem "Living Inside Confucius Wall," was translated into Mandarin and published by Jining University in China. His poems have also been published in Swansea, Wales, Canada, and the Virgin Islands. Swinging Away: A Celebration is his 15th book. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.