John Burroughs, a.k.a. Jesus Crisis, is a Buddho-Taoist poet, pacifist, photographer, musician, bibliophile, and philosopher in Elyria, Ohio. Involved in the vibrant Cleveland poetry scene and founder of the burgeoning Crisis Chronicles Press and Online Library, he was born in Richwood, West Virginia, raised in Elyria, and at one point spent eleven years in prison for a crime he did not commit. While there, he was involved a series of musical theatre productions as script and song writer, actor, musical director and more. He tutored his fellow inmates in English and mathematics and created and taught courses in meditation, basic biblical Hebrew and Greek, music theory and conflict resolution. JC has also spent about 20 years of his adult life in higher (and lower?) education at Lorain County Community College, the University of South Carolina, Ohio University and a couple of seminaries. He eventually earned the dubious distinction of being a number one blogger on MySpace in 2007 before declaring his independence at www.crisischronicles.com.

JC is the author of ten musical plays and three poetry chapbooks. Identity Crises (2009, by Douglas Manson, Jesus Crisis and Bree) from Green Panda Press is currently out of print. Bloggerel (2008) and 6/9: Improvisations in Dependence (2009) are available for $5 each from Crisis Chronicles Press; 420 Cleveland Street; Elyria, Ohio 44035.

JC has been a featured poet at Mac's Backs (Cleveland Heights, OH), the 806 Wine and Martini Bar (Cleveland, OH), Jim's Coffeehouse (Elyria, OH), the Collingwood Arts Center (Toledo, OH), Pumpkin Hollow Antiques and Cafe (Bellville, OH), the Beat Cafe (Warren, MI), Mint Jam '09 (St. John's MI), the Last Wordsmith Book Shoppe (North East, PA), Visible Voice Books (Cleveland), the Morgan Conservatory (Cleveland), The Lit (Cleveland), New Beginnings Cafe (Marion, OH), Dunkin' Donuts (Brunswick, OH) and Phoenix Coffee (South Euclid, OH - hosted by Saturday Night with the Poet's Haven). Podcasts of some of his early spoken word performances are available through The Poet's Haven (episodes 6 & 8). He founded the first ever Snoetry festival, held 16 January 2010 at The Last Wordsmith in North East, PA.  Currently, he co-hosts the Lix and Kix poetry and music series the 3rd Wednesday of every month (7 pm) at the Bela Dubby Art Gallery & Beer Cafe (13321 Madison Ave.) in Lakewood, Ohio.

JC's work was first published in Kaleidoscope in 1983. Since then, his work has appeared in more places than he can remember, including Images, The Conch-Us Times, Inner Voices 6, the Prisoner-to-Prisoner daily devotional, Tomorrow Never Knows, Cleveland's Scene magazine, The Cartier Street Review, Rounding the Stone, Joy's Poetry Blog, Green Panda Press' Crater Cleveland Erie: a Poets' inDirectory, Admit2, Rounding of the Stone, a handful of stones, Hit and Run, the NEO poets Field Guide, CP Journal #5, Mnemosyne, Troubadour 21, Le Pink-Elephant Press' 2nd annual bookmark series, the Hessler Street Fair 2009 Poetry Anthology, Kuca od stakla, Eviscerator Heaven, the Other Voices International anthology and several issues of The City Poetry.

More of JC's work will appear soon in Rusty Truck, the Muddy River Review, Ship of Fools, April 2010's Heights Observer, and an Angels with Broken Wings anthology.

[updated 3/22/2010]


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Consider this selection from Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet:

"Is not religion all deeds and all reflection,

And that which is neither deeds nor reflection, but a wonder and a surprise ever springing in the soul, even while the hands hew the stone or tend the loom?

Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupations?

Who can spread his hours before him, saying, 'This is for God and this is for myself;
This for my soul, and this other for my body?'

All your hours are wings that beat through space from self to self."