Mark Scamahorn is originally from San Francisco, and after spending almost twenty years living off and on in Santa Barbara teaching English at Santa Barbara City College, he now joins the Writing Program at UCSB.

Mark earned his BA in English Literature with a minor in Political Science from San Francisco State University and his MFA in Writing from the University of Arizona, Tucson. He also did graduate work at UCSB, Cal State University Northridge, and the University of Wyoming. His interests include gender/politics in advertising and visual rhetoric, non-fiction, memoir, documentary, and poetry.

Mark has contributed to America Now and 75 Arguments textbooks. His poems have appeared in a number of mostly underground magazines, including Onthebus, Pearl, Insomnia, and The Moment. His second book is still in progress.

When not teaching and writing, Mark loves to cook, hike, and anything to do with the ocean. He is a huge baseball fan rooting for the Los Angeles Angels and the San Francisco Giants. He was an almost-famous musician in the '90s. He has an eleven year old daughter and his late grandfather from Germany had Albert Einstein as a professor.