Dr. Steven M. Gerson, Professor Emeritus, Johnson County Community College, was named 2003-2004 Kansas Professor of the Year, chosen by the Carnegie Foundation. He is the co-author, along with his wife Sharon Gerson, of 13 college-level textbooks and the author of Once Planed Straight: Poetry of the Prairies (Spartan Press-KC) and Viral: Love and Losses in the Time of Insanity (Spartan Press-KC).

He has published over 200 poems in many journals and was named a finalist for the 2021 Poetry of the Plains & Prairies (POPP) Award. Steve is most proud of his 50+ year marriage to Sharon, for whom all his love poems are written, his wonderful family of Stacy, Stefani, and Rob, and for the joy of spending time with his three grandchildren: Sophia, Samantha, and Jacob. These people are the poetry of Steve’s life.