Hi there! Thanks for clicking on the bio. I’m a poet and English professor, originally from Alabama but relocated in 2006 to western New York, where I teach at Alfred University. I am the author of two full-length poetry collections; the more recent, Roleplay, won the 2010 Orphic Prize and was published last year by Dream Horse Press. Roleplay also won the 2013 Eugene Paul Nassar Poetry Prize for the best annual poetry collection published by an upstate New York author. My first book of poetry, The Man Under My Skin, was published by River City Publishing in 2005.
I grew up in Anniston, Alabama, and attended the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!). I earned my M.A. from The University of Tennessee, and my Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. Each summer from 2000 to 2011, I taught on the faculty of the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference, and from 2000 to 2013 I worked on the staff of the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. My Sewanee family means a lot to me, and I get back there whenever I can. If you’re a young writer, or a not-so-young writer, I encourage you to check out these conferences and their amazing opportunities.
Nowadays, when I’m not writing, I’m probably reading, gardening, making ice cream, or taking pictures of my ridiculous cats. You can expect to see all of those interests represented on this site.
I took this selfie last fall during my stay at La Muse Writers’ and Artists’ Retreat in southern France.
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