David Watts grew up in Central Texas and trained
first as a musician then as a medical doctor.
He was on-camera host for PBS, Lifetime Network and
local television news in the 1980's and was a live radio
host on KQED-FM.
His commentaries on the practice of medicine can be
heard on National Public Radio's All Things
Considered.
His practice of medicine and gastroenterology is at
the University of California, San Francisco - where he
teaches in the medical school.
In 1992 he earned a Masters in English/Poetry from
San Francisco State University and now teaches
poetry at the Fromm Institute.
His poetry has been published in The Gettysburg
Review, The Antioch Review, The Spoon River Poetry
Review, The New Virginia Review and other magazines.
His books include Taking The History (Nightshade Press) and Making (Talent House). Making was awarded the Talent House Prize
in 1999.
He is currently working on a television special
examining the relationship between poetry and
medicine and lives with his wife, Joan Baranow, and
four-year-old son in Mill Valley, California.
Both "Chemotherapy" and "Privacy Please" feature David Watts, voice and accoustic bass and Robert Markison, saxaphon, flute, trumpet, recorder, lapsteel guitar, keyboard and wind synthesizers, accoustic and sythesized percussion. The poems ppear on the Word of Mouth CD Powerful Seeds. Poetry copyright 2000 Watts and Baranow. Music copyright 2000, Markison. Privacy Please was originally aired on NPR.