Born and raised in SE Michigan, Joe moved to Detroit in 1961 and pursued a 35-year career in law-enforcement. After many years of classroom work, the appeal of creative writing led to attempts at poetry of many kinds... love-poems, nature-related verse, children’s material, even some humor. A move to Oregon in 2001 provided an opportunity to take classes in the Portland area, followed by a 3-year trek to Canberra Australia for more creative-writing courses. Fortunately, Joe was able to get some works published Down Under, both prose and poetry. Nowadays, suburban Portland provides Mr. Schrader a pleasant atmosphere both for writing as well as to be near his son and grandchildren. A handfull of his poems have been published here in Oregon, but he readily admits his work still needs considerable polishing to be of a professional caliber. And despite being in his seventh decade, classroom work is considered a necessity... and a pleasure.