Synopsis "The Illusion of Security"
Dark, disturbing poems engaging the moral dilemma of drone warfare in an age of terror, and the links between warfare and social violence in Los Angeles. Robert J. Foss is the Legal Director of the International Institute of Los Angeles, a non-profit agency in Boyle Heights. He has worked as an immigration lawyer in Los Angeles for the past 25 years, particularly in the Central American community, and specializes in asylum claims as well as LGBT immigration issues. Born in rural Washington state, Foss studied Theology and Mathematics at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio and lived in Bogotá, Colombia for several years. He has travelled frequently to Guatemala and El Salvador, working on community development and human rights issues. A graduate of Loyola Law School, Foss also holds a graduate degree in Theology from Sophia Divinity School. He is an initiated Day-keeper (ajq'ij) in the Maya-K'iche' lineage, as well as an ordained bishop in an independent Catholic church. His interests include anthropology, spirituality, ritual, cooking, and organic gardening. Foss speaks English, Spanish, and rudimentary K'iche', and works academically with several ancient languages. A central theme of his spiritual quest has been the integration of justice and spirituality. He lives in the Boyle Heights area of east Los Angeles with his cats, a mariachi, two Ukrainians and a Zapotec tuba player.
