Kevin McLaughlin
Kevin McLaughlin graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and worked as an Industrial Engineer until he retired from Grumman/Vought in 2005. He co-founded the Night Heron Poets in Stuart, Florida, and has edited Better Than Starbucks Haiku column since 2016. He has studied and written haiku for over 50 years.
Mclaughlin has frequently presented Buddhist and poetry themed talks at local churches, synagogues, and libraries. He is an active member of the Interfaith Alliance of the Treasure Coast. McLaughlin took the Buddhist Refuge Vows in 2001. He expects to experience Satori one day soon.
Kevin McLaughlin (December 9, 1946 to March 23, 2025)
Kevin McLaughlin graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1969 and worked as an Industrial Engineer until he retired from Grumman/Vought in 2005. In 1994, he co-founded the Night Heron Poets with Julie Bertrand, at the Lyric Theater in Stuart, Florida. Their efforts created a warm and welcoming stage for experienced poets and those presenting their work for the first time.
Kevin’s preferred form of poetry was Haiku. He took great pleasure in editing the Better Than Starbucks magazine's haiku column, which received submissions from around the world.
Kevin’s true passion was his pursuit of knowledge, in particular, Buddhism. He practiced those beliefs in body, as a volunteer at the Treasure Coast Wildlife Hospital, and in spirit, through daily meditation, along with gatherings at The Interfaith Alliance in Stuart, or his home Sangha in Lake Worth. Kevin embraced the meditative qualities of long distance running and the quiet of backwater kayaking. He was also that rarest of individuals who could carry on a conversation about Bob Dylan lyrics then segue into a discussion on quantum physics. He is survived by his wife Deb, his sister Noreen, his brother Keith and countless friends. There is much more that can be said about Kevin, but what he appreciated most about Haiku was its brevity.
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In just an instant,
The limbs of a dead slash pine
Fill with white ibis.
Kevin McLaughlin