Born in Kansas but raised in Portland, Oregon, Mike Phoenix earned a BA in English from the University of Oregon in 1977. After work as a copy-aide and free-lance writer for the Oregon Journal newspaper in Portland, he returned to the Midwest to earn an MFA in Theater in 1985 from the University of Southern Illinois at Carbondale. He saw his original plays presented in Carbondale and Aurora, IL; Starkville, MS; Toronto, ONT; Arcata and San Francisco, CA; Portland, OR and St. Louis, MO. He directed six, main stage theater productions at Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Missouri, and taught remedial writing and college composition at St. Louis Community College at Meramec. Following 31 years with St. Louis Public Schools as an English Teacher, Professional Development Manager, and Computer Science Instructor, Phoenix retired in 2024. He earned his Doctorate in Education from the University of Missouri at St. Louis in 2016. Going on 25 years, Phoenix continues to edit the bi-monthly newsletter of a local comic book fan club, SAGA. He and his wife Rebecca have three children, three grand-children, and have made their home in St. Louis since 1988.