1 A published poet, he says poetry “provides illumination, introspection and a way of remembering. Wallace Stevens called a poet ‘The scholar of one candle.’ ”

2 A cherished possession is a vintage Nikon FG film camera and 35 mm lens, because that’s what he bought with his first paycheck after college. Soon after — a fly fishing rod and camping gear.

3 Two favorite adventures were trekking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal and hiking 10,000 feet down into the Amazon basin from Peru’s Puna grasslands.

4 He finds peace in the hectic Bay Area among the region’s trails, ferns, redwoods and clear blue skies.

5 Recommended summer reading: “Underland” by Robert Macfarlane, a journey into what lies beneath the surface of both place and mind, traveling through deep time from the birth of the universe to a post-human future.