In 1988, Cleo Kocol was named Humanist Heroine by the American Humanist Association. Spend five minutes with her, and you can see why. Cleo projects the endless energy and enthusiasm that have fueled decades of activism. Recently, she started a new humanist group in a conservative area east of ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Sacramento, California's state capital. She already belonged to two humanist organizations in the Sacramento area, but that didn't stop her from starting another one where it was needed.

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Cleo must be trying to prove the truth of the saying that, "If you want to get something done, ask a busy person." Because now she has started a poetry column for the Sacramento Bee.  It's wonderfully inclusive. After recalling the days when every young person was expected to learn and recite famous poems, she talks about the way interest in poetry has been revived by online zines and spoken word slams, and invites contributions from her readers:

 "I plan to showcase local poets of all poetic genres. I want to present everything that reflects the great variety of poetry and poets today. As a genre, poetry has proliferated, going from the printed page to the spoken word. It has kept in step with the dot-com world, and it grows yearly."

Cleo is herself an award winning poet.  Read this one and you will see why. . If you fall in love with that, you'll see you can find more on-line!