Steven Robert Heine was born in Salem, Oregon. His grandfather was an immigrant who left Germany at the turn of the last century. His father had been a popular local athlete and county politician, who considered his eldest son Steven, a great disappointment. Steven Robert Heine was a skinny teenager who not only suffered from extreme shyness, but was awkward and not very athletic. And then one day, when he was seventeen, he saved the lives of two childern in a dramatic rescue and found himself being honored for heroism.

Somehow that single moment of heroism could help him through the lonely years ahead. He struggled to finish high school and entered college at Portland State University. There within the academic walls of the University, Heine began a great transformation. He began to write poetry as he emerged from his prison of extreme shyness. He graduated with degrees in History and Political science and the drafts of his first two books of poetry.

After college, he published that first volume of the poetry and in the same week signed a contract as a free lance cartoonist. But as a cartoonist Heine was so much better known than he was as a poet, that in later volumes he borrowed his own cartoon character for the covers of his poetry books. He began selling his poetry at State Fairs and even read poetry on stage in an animated act that sought to draw people to poetry that had never paid much attention to it before.

After several years at State Fairs, Heine got an even bigger idea. He decided to try to unite the authors and literary groups of Oregon into a single literary council to promote literacy. But in the midst of the project, Heine suffered a crippling back injury and the council fell apart.

Heine would live the next years of his life in extreme pain, many days not even able to walk.But he suffered more from the mysterious death of his younger brother.After recovering from five years of grieving over his brother's death,he was about to celebrate the birth of his first son.But the son died just before birth.

Today the poetry of Steven Robert Heine is taught in schools in the United States and the countries of the world.He has become known as 'the Dean of Fair Poetry Directors', and advises States and County's across the United States on how to set up poetry displays. He works as a telecommunications manager and uses the internet to communicate with the International Community. Like many in the International Community, he considers himself a laborer who is trying to lay the best possible foundation for the next century.
......from Beaumont Publishing Company.