I’m from a midwestern working-class family, although I grew up mostly elsewhere — in California, Tennessee, and Georgia
. I was the first person in my extended family to attend college, first at Berea College, then graduating from Beloit College, Wisconsin, where I won the Academy of American Poets Prize. Next, I earned a doctorate in English literature from the University of California, Irvine. For many years, I’ve taught literature and creative writing at Indiana University South Bend.
In my younger years, I worked at an amusement park, a hardware store, a drugstore warehouse, as a printer’s assistant, and as a materials specialist at a shoe company.
In 2007, I assisted Professor Ken Smith in the founding of Wolfson Press. Ken is now retired, and I carry on the tradition of publishing new literature and, on a more regional scale, Civil Rights history, biography, and other works of local interest. At Wolfson Press, we train and employ student interns in numerous publishing and research roles.