I am Jake Cosmos Aller, your host. I am a novelist, poet and retired U.S. diplomat having served 27 years in the Foreign Service. I have been writing poetry and short stories for decades, and have published my poetry and fiction in over 25 literary journals. My poetry can best be described as “neo-beatnik” as growing up in Berkeley I was been heavily influenced by the beatnik writers.
I have completed four SF novels, – Giant Nazi Spiders, the Great Divorce, Jurassic Cruise, and Ft. Ashland. I hope to have all four readied for possible publication within the next six months. I have completed ten volumes of poetry and one volume of short stories.
During my foreign service career, I served in ten countries (Korea, Thailand, India, the Eastern Caribbean (lived in Barbados but covering Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts, St Lucia, and St Vincent) and Spain.
I grew up in Berkeley, California and have lived all over the U.S., in Berkeley, Washington DC, Stockton, California, Seattle, Washington, Alexandria Virginia and Medford, Oregon. I have traveled to 49 States, and two U.S. territories. I have also lived overseas in Korea, Thailand, India, Spain, and the Eastern Caribbean. I currently am splitting my retirement between Korea and the U.S. States. I speak Korean, Thai, and Spanish. I am married, no children.
I will be posting my poetry, fiction, and political observations on this site. Needless to say, the views expressed are entirely my own and do not reflect the views of any of my prior employers. Now that I am retired I can finally speak my mind and will do so every day.
Politically, I am a lifelong Democrat but consider myself a pragmatic progressive and distrust ideologues of both the left and the right, but particularly the right. My religious views have evolved – I was a hardcore atheist but over the years have had spiritual insights so I consider myself a Buddhist nowadays but don’t belong to any temple or group. Just try to do the right thing at all times. I particularly have a bone to pick with the so-called Christian right, particularly those who proclaim Trump is anointed by God etc or who claim that God speaks to them. See my poem “God Does Not Speak to Idiots.”
I welcome comments and will try to respond to each comment time permitting. While I welcome a spirited debate and certainly don’t expect people will agree with me all the time, but please keep your comments civil. If you engage in the abusive language you will be banned from the site.
Thanks
Jake Cosmos Aller