Welcome

Many of us love the poetry of Bill Trampleasure. This website presents many of them, and will include more over time.

To see a complete list of poems, visit the Table of Contents page.

Two letters about hills and mountains

The following are letters to the Berkeley Daily Gazette written by Bill in 1971, published in the “The open forum” section. (Information on Reverend Doug Smith’s Vietnam War Protest on Mt. Shasta can be found here.)

From the Mountain Top

Tuesday morning I watched the sunrise from the summit of Mt. Shasta. I was with my friend Dough Smith, a man of peace. I had climbed Shasta on Monday, the 26th anniversary of the sunburst explosion over Nagasaki. I had climbed to be with Doug, to hug Doug, to support Doug. I had climbed to draw closer to my God and to myself. I had climbed because Shasta had begun to cast her spell over me since Doug had first shared with some of us his hopes and plans for the Shasta project. Read more »

Joseph Edmund Turner — “First Rate”

Bill’s “Uncle Ed” was an important part of his life. Following is a biography written by Dr. Homer Brugge, Ed’s good friend and doctor, with minor assistance from Bill.

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