After high school, Dave Holt began setting his poems to music. This led to a reenactment of the well-known songwriter fable, moving from his birthplace, Toronto, Canada, to California. He followed the muse of story-telling and poetry into San Francisco State University’s Creative Writing program (B.A. ‘93, M.A. ‘95). His poetry is published in several journals such as Raven Chronicles, Pedestal Magazine, and Spillway; he’s won Thomas Merton’s Poetry of the Sacred prize; was a three-time winner of the Maggie H. Meyer Memorial Contest, 2011-2015; Ina Coolbrith prize for Nature poem 2015, and was featured in the 9th Annual Berkeley Poetry Festival. He is Anishinaabe/Ojibwe (aka Chippewa) Indian from his mother’s side. His book, Voyages to Ancestral Islands, which won a Cultural Literary Award from Artists Embassy International (2013), tells the story of reuniting with his Ojibwe ancestors of West Bay/ M’Chigeeng First Nation Reserve. His poems have been included in four anthologies, including Descansos, Words from the Wayside, where his contributed poem received a Pushcart Prize nomination. He also is a songwriter, composer and accompanies his wife, singer/songwriter and guitarist Chappell Holt, in their SF Bay Area live performances. They have 2 CDs of their compositions available through Bohemian Hwy Music and Books.