Spotlight Sunday – The Klute aka Bernard Schober

Editor Note: This week Andrea features someone she is fond of and admires for this Spotlight Sunday column.

Thank you for alerting us to this fascinating individual.

Take it away, Andrea:

 

The Klute (Bernard Schober) is one of the authors that I greatly admire. There are a few reasons why but the biggest is his dedication to the environment and his tireless effort to battle for sharks. He also assists the local poetry scene, helping his fellow poets as well as encouraging others to check out the poetry scene. Not only is his work admirable but his poetry is incredible as well.

Through working with him for the last two years at Phoenix Comic Con, this year Comic Fest and a couple other local events, I’ve gotten to know him and admire his dedication as well as his big heart and sense of whimsy. All of his shark poetry is by sharks, for sharks and all proceeds go to sharks. He is talented, his poetry livening up our events, with his booming voice and commanding presence, drawing listeners to his table. “Who’s going to help you, Samuel L. Jackson? Samuel L. Jackson is dead, he got eaten by a shark.” I can tell you no matter how many times we hear his poetry, it still makes us laugh and makes us think.

Bernard is an educator. Part of his goal at events is teach people about sharks, teaching people cool facts about megalodon and modern sharks. When children approach, this big man turns into a softie, gentling his voice and educating these small ones. He teaches them that sharks help our environment and despite the fact that he’s trying to raise money for sharks, I’ve regularly seen him give away or reduce cost on his plastic sharks just for children. All of the profits from this year’s Phoenix Comic Fest will go directly to Fins Attached Marine Research and Conservation. One of his other charities of choice is Shark Angels. He is unwavering in his fight for the environment and to keep the oceans safe, attempting to come up with ways to keep plastics, such as straws, nets and bags out of our oceans and come up with alternate methods to package items that would normally use plastic.

In addition to his ocean activism, Bernard is a active leader and voice in the local poetry community. He has represented the cities of Mesa, Phoenix, and Sedona at the National Poetry Slam 10 times between 2002 and 2014. He helps to organize the Nerd Slam at Phoenix Comic Con/Fest and participates in poetry events. He is a fabulous poet and doesn’t just promote himself but also encourages others to support local poets. You can see him participating in almost all the nerdy poetry gatherings in the valley. In support of this passion, he also champions Arizona State Poetry Society and Anthology, Inc.

Most recently, he’s been asked to be part of to sit on the Citizen’s Advisory Board for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (East/Central Phoenix region). While this doesn’t sound as exciting as being an author or swimming with the sharks, it is a critical element to his work for the environment as he states this board will be focused on water management issues – of which plastic pollution is going to be something I’m on the lookout. He’s excited about the position and I’m encouraged that a person with his knowledge will be part of the helping to advise on the environment in the area that I live in.

If you want to check out his work, his website is http://theklute.com/. You can also find him on Facebook and twitter, https://www.facebook.com/TheKlute/ and https://twitter.com/the_klute. On his website, you can find out more about the charities he supports and even check out his published works. Author, Ocean Activist, nerd, Bernard is one of the most dedicated and coolest guys I know, spending his spare time swimming in the oceans he loves when he’s not writing, slamming poetry or saving sharks. I hope everyone I know will check him out and read more about the incredible work he’s performing, both for the environment and his poetry. I also hope hearing about his projects you might take the time to donate to his causes and help support his wonderful work.

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