Roots of Violence
Melody Ermachild Chavis has spent her long career looking deeply at the causes and conditions that underlie violence. A private investigator for capital offence defense teams, Melody specialized in the research and presentation of evidence of mitigating circumstances. Traumatic events lie behind many violent acts. The social histories Melody compiled were not excuses for crime, but attempts to understand what circumstances could cause people to offend.
Journeys with Rilke
Author and Rilke scholar Daniel Joseph Polikoff has published six books of poetry, translation, criticism, and creative non-fiction. Daniel earned his PhD in Comparative Literature from Cornell University and his Diploma in Waldorf Education from Steiner College; he has taught literature in both Waldorf high schools and Bay area graduate programs. He has shared his passion for Rilke in a wide variety of venues in the United States and abroad. A native of Chicago, he has lived with his German wife Monika and family in the San Francisco Bay area since 1999.