James Curtis Geist has written eight books of poetry and anecdotes from 2016-2019. He has chosen his favorite of the 600 poems has written and put them into two volumes. The entries come from the heart and gut; are funny, personal and use conclusion-al observations and zingers. Geist is a graduate of Nyack College and the Alliance Seminary. He has served in the pastorate in NYC for five years, and has been involved in fighting sweatshops, child labor, modern day slavery and genocide in Sudan. He has been a history teacher for 16 years in NYC and in Newark. He was voted Teacher of the Year in 2012 by his peers, and from 2016-2019 has written ten books. His students nicknamed him Ron Burgandy and Mr. Incredible. Some of the topics covered in ESSENTIAL GEIST: Volume Two are Halloween, the Vagal Reflex, Mocking Birds. the Elks Lodge, modeling, house painting, Spanish Class, a few hooker stories, the Teamsters, his Uncle who use to walk his pet fish, and velocipedes.Many have referred to Geist’s style as Bukowski-esque. The stories and poetry are ecletic, thought-provoking and humorous.