QotD: World Teachers' Day

In honor of World Teachers' Day today, tell us about a teacher who had a positive impact on your life.

John Abram Bubb, d. 1993, sculptor in stone, dearly remembered: the coolest art teacher who ever was.

Sister Patricia Binko, the Nun of Suzuki Strings. I play the violin because of her.

Bruce Weigl, poet, critic, essayist, memoirist, translator, and fucking cool guy. I had his English 213, Intro to Poetry Writing, pretty much by accident -- it fit my schedule that fall. I thought, "Oh, poetry. That should be easy" -- words which haunted me as I sat down to write my 4-hour master's-degree candidacy exam in 1997.

Carolyn Forche. My guru. I love Carolyn forever.

Peter Klappert. Peter is another poet under whose grad-school strictures I blossomed.

Chris Thaiss was the first instructor to teach me how to teach, way back in the TA days. Now, everybody I work with teaches me more about all that.