Mark Koyama’s (M.Div.) last name means "small mountain" in Japanese.  The youngest son of the theologian Kosuke Koyama, he was born in Thailand, and grew up in Singapore and New Zealand before moving to New York City in 1980.  Not long after taking his first steps, he grabbed a pencil and has been writing ever since.  He is also a musician –  entirely self taught – singing, or playing on the guitar, mandolin, bass, and any other stringed instruments.  His scholarly work includes a religion degree studying Buddhism at Bates College (B.A. ‘88), Hebrew Bible at Union Theological Seminary (M.A. ‘92) and a recently completed a degree in fiction at UMass Amherst (M.F.A. ‘10).  Mark hopes to bring these diverse strains together in a productive three years at the ISM.  He is an M.Div. candidate on ordination track in the UCC.  On the weekends, Mark will drive north two hours on I-91 to enjoy a "full catastrophe lifestyle with my wife Cary, three children, eight chickens, dog and 24--year-old cat (who is completely bonkers)” in Montague, Massachusetts.