Lou Spaventa, author of Improvisations for Creative Language Practice was born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1968, Lou began his life journey as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Korea. He has lived in Korea, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Mexico, Yugoslavia, England, Barbados, Buffalo, New York, State College, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and Honolulu, Hawaii. He has been a Peace Corps Volunteer, a Fulbright lecturer, a teacher trainer, a college writing professor, and a U.S. foreign service officer. He eventually settled down in Santa Barbara, California where he taught writing at UC Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City College.