Robert Brandts, "molded from the mud of the Lesser Floyd River, the Ganges of Sioux County, Iowa," taught English in Kenya, then Creative Writing and African Literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Bob Brandts owned a bar, The English Department, built his own house (and built another after losing the first in a wildfire), paints in oil and pastels, and brews his own beer. He published the poetry volumes As We Drifted and Dear 732, a selection from which and from the anthology ondas is presented here, with German translations by Mitch Cohen and Wolfgang Heyder. At poetry readings, Bob has shared the stage with Kenneth Rexroth, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Alan Ginsberg, and Gary Snyder.