Joan Gerstein has been penning poetry since elementary school where her rhyming poems often appeared on mimeographed papers. Originally from NY, Joan has resided in CA since 1969 and brings her experiences from both coasts to her writing. A retired educator and psychotherapist, Joan taught creative writing to incarcerated veterans, for five years, until the pandemic. She is active in the San Diego poetry community and her poetry has appeared in over 30 anthologies, journals, and online zines. Her first book of poetry, Theories of Relativity, is scheduled to be published in September 2021.
Joan is a contributing author to the House of Zolo’s Journal of Speculative Literature, Volume 3 with the poem “Paris is Not Burning.”