Mr. John Oliver Mason

I was born and raised in Northeastern Pennsylvania, with abusive parents, teachers, and kids all around me, constantly harassing and bullying me, reminding me constantly how useless and stupid I am. From that experience, I believe in standing up for my rights and the rights of others.That passion for justice fuels my writing. I also continue to question all of the false ideas and doctrines I was brought up with and in the commercial media.

I graduated from Temple University in 1984 with a Bachelor's degree in History, and in May 2018 I earned a Master's degree from the Labor Center of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. I'm passionate for lifelong learning, in and out of the classroom. I am also active in the Labor movement and related causes-movements of working and low-income people advancing their communities, and improving their lives and those of their families.

I am a freelance journalist,having written for newspapers, blogs, and magazines for thirty years. writing about such neighborhood events as police-community workshops, neighborhood associations, anti-drug marches, and neighborhood people making a difference in their communities.

I am a published poet, and I have read my works throughout the Philadelphia area; these include Moonstone Arts Center, Painted Bride, Meridian Writers Collective, Kelly Writers House, and Najee's Loft. I support all these venues for poets and other artists to perform their works.

I write about people's issues, and what they go through in life. I believe in the power of the written word, and in people's small actions in groups, having an effect to change the community for the better.