William Minor attended:

• the University of Michigan
• Pratt Institute
• the University of Hawaii (B.A. in Painting and Drawing, 1958)
• the University of California-Berkeley (M.A. in Painting and Drawing, 1960)
• San Francisco State University (M.A. in Language Arts/Creative Writing, 1963)

While pursuing an active career as a writer/visual artist/musician, Bill spent thirty-two years as an educator.
He taught at:

• The University of Hawaii (1963-1965)
• Wisconsin State University-Whitewater (1966-1971)
• Monterey Peninsula College (1971-1996)

At the latter, he served in the Department of English (Humanities Division) and taught:

• Composition
• Literature
• Remedial English
• Introduction to the Short Story
• Introduction to Poetry
• Creative Writing
• American Literature
• Contemporary American Literature
• American Humor and Comedy
• Rock Lyrics
• Soviet Russian Literature
• Humanities

In 1989, Bill received the Allen Griffin Award for Excellence in Teaching (presented by the Community Foundation for Monterey County). Interviewed for that award, he stated his belief that, as a teaching writer/artist, all that he did--from presenting poetry readings to public lectures to art shows--constituted "community service." He still believes that's true.

He served as independent faculty member for:

• "Writing the Range: A Writer-to-Writer Retreat" sponsored by Local 7 of the National Writers Union (Holman Ranch)
• "The Business of Literature" (Weekend Seminar Course sponsored by Creative States Quarterly, Inc, Sunset Center, Carmel)
• the California Writers Association Conference at Asilomar Conference Ground
• and for many years has been a faculty member at the Foothill Writers Conference in Los Altos, California.

Lectures and Workshops:
Bill has lectured (and sung) for AARP ("Music of the 1930s: Songs of the Depression") and at the Carmel Foundation on "Crete Today" and "Jazz Life and Music in the Soviet Union." He gave the latter talk and others on "American Humor and Comedy" and "Russian Writers Since the Revolution" for the Monterey Peninsula College Gentrain Society and-although retired--taught a two week four session course at MPC called "Capturing Voices: Memoirs and Oral History."

He has also spoken on:

• "Jazz Life in Russia" for the Northern California Council of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
• "American Humor and Comedy" (Carmel Kiwanis Club)
• "Humor in Poetry" (Monterey Writers Club)
• "Music and Education" (Educational Update, California Lutheran College, Monterey High School)
• "The Rhetoric of Jazz" (Young Rhetoricians Society Conference, San Jose State University, Holiday Inn, Monterey)

For younger audiences, he has participated in:

• the Carmel Middle School Writing Fair
• Carmel High School Career Extravaganza, "Shoot for the Stars: 100 Career Speakers" (he was asked to talk about
  a career in poetry!)
• National History Day

He served as Writer-in-Residence at Robert Lewis Stevenson School, and participated in the "Grand Assembly of Authors" at the Thunderbird Book Store (to raise funds for All Saints Episcopal Day School library).

Readings:
Living on the Monterey Bay Peninsula in California for the last thirty years, Bill has read his poetry, prose, and jazz writing at:

• The Pacific Grove Art Center
• Portofino Cafe (including "An Evening of Russian Poetry and Song" with Marat and Alexandra Akchurin)
• The Thunderbird Book Store (including World Poetry Day)
• Carl Cherry Center for the Arts
• Bookworks
• Bay Books (National Poetry Week; Steinbeck Cannery Row reading; Banned Books Week, "Three Russian Authors")
• Hartnell College (Western Stage "A Communion of Poets")
• Amphora Cafe in Big Sur
• Cafe Balthazar
• First Presbyterian Church (Monterey Peninsula Writers Club)
• Unitarian Church
• Robert Louis Stevenson School

Outside the Monterey Bay area, he has read at:

• Santa Cruz Arts Center; Zachary's (Santa Cruz)
• Sweet Williams (Santa Cruz)
• Louden Nelson Center (Santa Cruz)
• Capitola Book Cafe
• Printers Inc (Palo Alto)
• Waverly Writers (Palo Alto)
• Foothill College (Los Altos)
• Not-So-Dead Poets Society (Redwood City)
• Hannibal's Cafe (Sacramento)
• Sacramento Poetry Center
• The Sacramento City College Arts Festival
• Kelly House (Mendocino)
• Torsiello Gallery (Oakland)
• Chico State University

Community Service:
Bill served on the Board of Directors for IDEA (International Disabled Exchange Adventures; an organization dedicated to an exchange program for persons with disabilities in the United States and Japan) and was advisor to the ARA Learning Centers of Colorado oral histories project (in affiliation with Driftwood Convalescent Home).
He was on the original Cafe Poets Steering Committee for Barbara Murphy's Portofino Café; and he served as poetry judge in the NAACP ACT-SO Competition in 2000.
Bill has twice received "The City of Pacific Grove Recognition of Outstanding Achievement" award (in the field of Literary Art) from the Pacific Grove Arts Commission and the Pacific Grove Friends of the Arts.
He was included in John McCleary's anthology Peninsula People.
At present he serves as a Book Contract Advisor for the National Writers Union.

Jazz:
Jazz critic Scott Yanow has written that Bill Minor is "one of the best educated jazz writers in the field today."
As a member of the Jazz Journalists Association, Bill has participated on three panels at the Monterey Jazz Festival:

• "An Insider's Look at The Monterey Jazz Festival" (1997),
• "The International Language of Jazz" (1999)
• "Jazz Trumpet Legacy" (with Ron Miles and Dave Douglas, 2000)

He served on two panels at the San Francisco Jazz Festival:

• "The International Language of Jazz" (1999)
• "Jazz Adventures in New Media" (2000)

Bill participated in Jazz Journalists Association Critics Clinics seminar sessions held at the 27th IAJE (International Association of Jazz Educators) International Conference in New Orleans (2000), and was on the "Struggles in Net Publishing" panel at the AWP (Associated Writing Programs) Annual Conference held in Palm Springs in 2001.

William Minor is available for workshop and seminar sessions on poetry, jazz writing, memoir writing and oral histories, and lectures on international jazz or any of the topics cited above.

Please see the Contact section of this website.