A native Virginian, Haines Eason and his wife Joni Lee, native of Missouri, arrived recently in Colorado, like so many others, seeking the good life that the state offers through ready access to astoundingly beautiful natural spaces, world class whitewater and fishing and a populace that is always ready to give the next new thing a go. For the last eight years Haines has been an educator at the high school through university levels, having taught in public, private and foreign settings, the latter being Morocco where he and Joni served with the Peace Corps as youth development volunteers. Education matters are central to Haines’ worldview, so be expecting robust coverage on the topic to appear in coming issues.
In addition to his teaching work, Haines has written for weekly and daily newspapers covering arts and political beats, and has served in various editorial roles for several literary journals, Boulevard Magazine out of St. Louis, Missouri being the most prominent. He has founded or co-founded papers and journals at his educational institutions as well: Arch Literary Journal, an online publication published at Washington University in St. Louis, and The Forum, the student-run paper of Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Besides a past life in journalism, Haines is a writer of poetry and has a Masters in Fine Arts from Washington University in St. Louis. He began writing seriously and publishing while a student at University of Montana, Missoula, where he studied with Karen Volkman and the other fantastic writers in residence. Since his time in Missoula over seventy of Haines’ poems have been printed in top national journals, and in 2009 the Poetry Society of America published his chapbook A
History of Waves. The volume was selected and introduced by the poet Mark Doty.
Haines has lived widely in the U.S. and has traveled far beyond our borders, and to that he has his own foci and interests to be sure. However, he wishes the Washington Park Profile readership to know that The Profile’s history—and it being a paper focused on community first—are what drew him to its offices.
The Platt Park neighborhood where The Profile office is located, with its aged trees, independent businesses, well-maintained yet modest family dwellings and quiet cafes and restaurants inspires him to think that he has landed where he was meant to be all along. As has ever been the case with past editors, Haines’ phone and email are always available to readers wishing to suggest stories or offer comment. He is sincerely honored to live and work amongst the good people of the neighborhoods served by The Profile.
