Hello

     I value my family history, so the pen name, Patrick G. Roland, is derived from my grandfathers' middle names. I chose to create a pseudonym for my poetry and fiction because as a college professor, I publish academic writing under my real name, Scott Gibbons, and I didn't want to get those two worlds confused for readers.

     I grew up in a small coal town about an hour outside of Pittsburgh. When I was two years old, I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. That disease was the best gift I could have received because it taught me how to be me. It opened a world of possibilities and eventually unlocked my imagination. My childhood was spent exploring the vast woods, rivers, and farmlands with my little brother and two best friends in tow. My mother was a local tax collector, who welcomed stories of hardship from every tax payer in the county, and my father worked long, arduous hours underground. My blue-collar roots helped me understand the importance of hard work and how to appreciate all that is given, which blossomed into an affinity for storytelling and writing.

     I earned a Bachelor's degree in English Education and a Master's degree in Literature and Composition. After teaching high school English language arts for eleven years, I went on to earn my Doctorate degree in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education, leading to a career teaching college courses in writing and educational methods. You can check out my educator profile by clicking here. I have always been interested in creative writing, but after a few harsh journal rejections about fifteen years ago, I mostly wrote behind closed doors and to an audience of disinterested pets sleeping at my feet.

     After becoming a father, I started reading some of my stories and poems to a more enthusiastic audience, who encouraged me to allow others to read it as well. Some of my writing was stowed away in computer files for decades while other pieces are quite current with a fresh perspective and style. I write what I know and I know what I see. I hope my writing elicits similar and vivid memories for my readers and motivates them to open their own treasure chest of stories and share those ideas with others. After my first acceptance, the advice I keep giving to myself, and what I would say to anyone interested in writing, is that writing is art, and art is never wrong. A poem or story might not be for everyone, but that's the point of writing. It will speak to someone, to some editor, so even after a brutal rejection, revise and keep at it.