SGV 019: If only I took English at Mt SAC with John Brantingham

John Brantingham was a driving force behind Mt San Antonio College’s creative writing club for decades. If you went to SAC in the last 30 years, you probably recognize his trademark shock of white hair and weary expression. He was a fixture around the 26 Building where everyone takes their humanities classes, and he taught all three levels of transfer-required English too.

Acclaimed Pomona poet Michael Torres says John is a major pillar of the college for aspiring writers. John, his wife Anne, and coworkers Lloyd Aquino and Michelle Dougherty organized Mt SAC’s Culturama and the SGV Lit Fest – events that gave young SGV and IE writers their first chance to get on stage and read beside headliner-level authors.

John is currently on a much-needed leave from education, living in West New York. Remote teaching and the cost of living in the area proved to be too much, so he and Anne decided to focus on their own work for a while. Since they may not return, we’re toasting John’s career at SAC – the school he went to – and sharing some of his advice on writing for a living. John is currently editor of the Journal of Radical Wonder, an artistic journal on Medium. He strongly encourages SGV writers to submit their work.