The Furniture Guild is a community of poets founded in Pasadena, California in 2000. Our members include Bruce Arnold, Jack Bowman, Mark Dixon, James Gabriel and Stephen Shepherd. Our name was suggested by the poem The Furniture Guild by Mark Dixon.

Bruce Arnold is a third generation retailer in Pasadena. A recent widower, he had come to this art form initially as solace for his pain, but found joy in the expression of all of life's emotional wellings. "Try to read it aloud, to a bush or wall if need be; the sounds of the words will echo within differently than if silently enjoyed." He reads at open mikes throughout the Los Angeles region, but can usually be found in and about Pasadena. He has published two chapbooks, Heart's Platter and Dancing Sheets.

Jack Bowman is a long suffering image and free verse poet. He has been published in small presses, anthologies and on the Internet in the US and UK since 1991. He is married and works as a psychotherapist with clients that are affected by chronic mental illness and often chemical dependency as well. His poetry tends to be dark and reflective with the occasional couplet of sarcastic humor. He has published two books of poetry, Thanatos on a Southland Freeway and Paranormal Libido.

Mark Dixon is an urban poet whose work focuses largely on the constantly changing Los Angeles street scene. Some of his work also deals with nature and the environment, and with Mark's childhood in Pomona. A native of the region, Mark is a graphic artist, web site designer and photographer for Stoker Creek Press. He has published one chapbook, Vain Tricks and Trances, now out-of-print, and performs at poetry readings and spoken word venues in southern California.

James Gabriel is a writer, poet and philosopher based in southern California. He has been writing for the last ten years, two of which have been almost most exclusively devoted to poetry. His work tends to focus on all things in life, seeing the irony in both the positive and the negative side of all things under the sun. "Nothing in this world is black or white. Everything contains shades of gray." James has completed one chapbook, Mad Quills Scratch By Candlelight, and is currently working on his second, along with a novel.

Stephen Shepherd is currently attending graduate school in neurobiology at Duke University. His interests and influences include music of all genres and 20th century writing, notably the Beat Poets. Stephen writes purely for catharsis, but finds some intellectual justification in the attempt to crystallize emotional experience in language. He has published an eponymous chapbook, now out-of-print; participated in the performance poetry show Seven Hearts; and directed Son of a Piss and Vinegar Woman. His poems have been printed in Beaux Arts 1994, 1995 and 1996, and the Totem 1998 and 2000.