James Dalessando co-founded the Santa Cruz Poetry Festival, which brought together Ken Kesey, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Charles Bukowski, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Bob Kaufman. He is a 20-year veteran of the Writer's Guild of America, West, and his books include Citizen Jane and 1906. He teaches the longest-running screenwriting course in San Francisco and has served as a writer for the award-winning House of Blues Radio Hour.