Mark Thibert, M.D. (pronounced tea-bear) is the author of The Space Between Names, his first published work of poetry.  Dr. Thibert’s inspiration comes from a wide variety of life experiences including an unusually long dalliance with academia.  An eight-year stint as an undergraduate imbued him with a very broad, mostly liberal arts education, and he eventually earned degrees in philosophy and art history. He is proud of having paid his own way through college.  Along the way, Dr. Thibert also completed a number of courses in writing and literature, including poetry.  Other formative courses included studies in Greek mythology, religion, acting, and psychology. He later earned a medical degree at the prestigious University of Washington School of Medicine, and went on to enjoy a fulfilling practice for over sixteen years in the field of Internal Medicine.  Prior to his medical career, the author worked as a forest firefighter, apprentice drywaller, lab technician, farmhand, and barista.  As a barista in the early to mid-1990’s, he had the rare privilege of being both a regular and an employee at the infamous Seattle coffeeshop, The Last Exit On Brooklyn, which was a gathering place for colorful personalities from all walks of life: chess players, college students, professors, wanderers, artists, counterculturalists, and two-bit hustlers.   Mingling with and learning from people of different ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, political beliefs, and socioeconomic and educational backgrounds made a profound impression on the writer: he considers his time at ‘The Exit’ to have been an ideal finishing school for a student of the humanities.  At a later date, he would spend several months wandering Europe and Asia on foot, meeting locals as well as travelers from all over the world, and having shoestring adventures on a budget of twenty dollars per day.  Dr. Thibert is also a father and husband and feels that he has learned more about life from his family than from anything else.  When he is not writing, the author enjoys fly-fishing, outdoor pursuits, travel, roasting and preparing espresso, building things with his hands, daydreaming, and consuming art of every kind and variety.  He resides in Bend, Oregon and is working on his second book.

 To read more about artistic influences on his work and style, follow the “Inspiration” link below.