John Kernis did his undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature at Hobart College, spending two terms at University College, Oxford University. John went on to get another degree, this time in teaching, in the US before doing more graduate work in literature in England (Sussex). He is published in numerous fields and has worked as a writer in both Taipei and Beijing. John has traveled extensively through most of the Southeast Asian and a few South Asian countries. John is fluent in English, Spanish, and speaks Mandarin Chinese.