The Duality of James Morehead: Engineering the Soul’s Syntax
In the sprawling, sun-drenched valleys of the San Francisco Bay Area, where the rhythm of life is often dictated by release cycles and lines of code, James Morehead stands as a fascinating study in duality. To the corporate world, he is a seasoned Product Manager at Google, a navigator of complex technical landscapes. But when the screens dim and the meetings adjourn, Morehead steps into a different realm entirely—one of stanza, meter, and metaphor. As the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Dublin, California, he has carved out a unique space where the precision of engineering meets the boundless fluidity of verse.
Bridging Silicon Valley and the Stanza
Morehead’s journey is not the typical trajectory of a Silicon Valley veteran, though his credentials—a B.A.Sc. in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo and an M.B.A. from the University of Toronto—might suggest otherwise. His technical career, which includes leadership roles at Support.com before his tenure at Google, is built on logic, structure, and user experience. Yet, it is perhaps this very command of structure that informs his poetry, allowing him to build poems that are as architecturally sound as they are emotionally resonant.
A Musical Heritage
To understand the source of this artistic undercurrent, one must look up the branches of the Morehead family tree. James is the son of Philip and Patricia Morehead, a power couple of the classical music world. His father, Philip Morehead, is a renowned conductor and pianist who served for decades as the Head of Music Staff at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. His mother, Patricia Morehead, is a celebrated oboist and composer.
The Literary Footprint
Morehead’s literary footprint is defined by a lyrical intensity and a keen eye for the visual. His tenure as the Poet Laureate of Dublin (2021–2024) was marked by a mission to bring poetry into the public square, but his written works offer a more intimate look at his psyche. His debut collection, "canvas," laid the groundwork, while "portraits of red and gray" offered a memoir in verse, tracing journeys from the Cold War-era USSR to the quiet majesty of the Canadian wilderness.
However, it is his collection "The Plague Doctor" that perhaps best exemplifies his depth. Despite the ominous title that might suggest a chronicle of the recent pandemic, the book is a sophisticated bait-and-switch. It is not a diary of lockdown, but rather a haunting exploration of art, mortality, and the fleeting nature of existence.
In these pages, Morehead wanders through galleries of the mind, using the imagery of plague doctors not as literal medical practitioners, but as symbols of those who walk amidst death and beauty, trying to make sense of the impermanent. It is a collection that asks the reader to look at a painting until it breathes, to listen to the silence until it speaks.
Beyond the Page
Morehead’s work often transcends the page. He is the host of the "Viewless Wings Poetry Podcast," a platform where he dissects the craft with other poets and artists. His poem "tethered" was transformed into an award-winning hand-drawn animated film, and his poem "gallery" was set to music for baritone and piano, further proving that for Morehead, poetry is a living, breathing multimedia experience.
Backgrounder Notes
As an expert researcher and library scientist, I have analyzed the article on James Morehead. Below are key terms, institutions, and historical references that provide deeper context for his life and work.
Poet Laureate A poet officially appointed by a government or institution to compose poems for special events and promote a wider public appreciation for the reading and writing of poetry. In the United States, these roles exist at national, state, and local city levels, such as the position Morehead held in Dublin, California.
Product Manager (Tech Industry) A strategic professional role responsible for the development and market success of a product, acting as the bridge between engineering, design, and business goals. In companies like Google, this role requires balancing technical feasibility with user experience and long-term product vision.
University of Waterloo Located in Ontario, Canada, this university is globally renowned for its high-ranking engineering and computer science programs. It is a primary "feeder" school for Silicon Valley, known specifically for its rigorous cooperative education model that blends academic study with professional work experience.
Lyric Opera of Chicago Founded in 1954, this is one of the "Big Three" opera companies in the United States, alongside the Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera. It is internationally recognized for its world-class musical standards and its commitment to both the classical repertoire and contemporary operatic works.
Plague Doctor Historically, these were medical practitioners who treated victims of the bubonic plague, famously identified by their beak-like masks which contained aromatic herbs to filter "miasma" or foul air. In literature and art, the figure has evolved into a symbol of the thin line between life and death, often representing the observer who remains present during times of catastrophe.
Viewless Wings The title of Morehead's podcast is a literary allusion to John Keats’ 1819 poem "Ode to a Nightingale." In the poem, Keats speaks of flying to the bird not on the "chariot of Bacchus" but on the "viewless wings of Poesy," symbolizing the invisible yet transformative power of the imagination.
B.A.Sc. (Bachelor of Applied Science) Unlike a general Bachelor of Science, the B.A.Sc. is a professional degree specifically awarded for engineering programs that emphasize the practical application of scientific principles. This degree structure reflects the "logic and structure" the article attributes to Morehead's technical background.
The Canadian Wilderness (in Literature) Often a central theme in Canadian arts, the "wilderness" represents a landscape that is both beautiful and indifferent to human presence. In poetry, it is frequently used to explore themes of isolation, survival, and the intersection of the rugged physical world with the internal human psyche.
