Rob Crisell is an author, poet, actor, winemaker, and teacher in Temecula, California. For the past eight years, he has taught poetry and Shakespeare with the Murrieta Valley Union School District. He has been a Shakespeare lecturer with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He has acted in The Merchant of Venice, Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged), Baskerville, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest (Prospero), Macbeth, Othello (Iago), and others. He has written and regularly performs several one-man plays featuring Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Shakespeare in America. He’s the author of the children’s novel The Zoo of Impossible Animals (De Portola Press, 2016), Shakespeare’s Book of Wisdom: Advice on Living a Wiser, Happier Life from William Shakespeare & Friends (DPP, 2018), The Fantastic Fables of Aesop (DPP, 2023), Temecula Valley Wineries (Arcadia Publishing, 2023). His 2016 TED Talk is “How NOT to Hate Shakespeare” can be found on You Tube. His poetry has been published in The Lyric Magazine, the Society of Classical Poets, among other venues. He is a graduate of Yale University and George Mason University Law School.
The focus of our conversation is Rob's newest book is California Avocados: A Delicious History, a fantastic exploration of avos rich and vibrant history.
We continue the story of California and the Civil War by discussing the fighting in the Southwest.
In this episode, we continue Obata's story as he journeys to Yosemite and ventures into the High Sierra.
In this episode, we meet Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker, an important early resident of Santa Monica.