I'm a poet. I also edit the poetry section of The Rumpus, an online culture magazine. I blog. I tweet. I teach creative writing, literature, and composition at Florida Atlantic University.

But mostly, I write poems. I earned an MFA in Poetry from the University of Arkansas, and I was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University from 2003-2005. My first book of poems, titled A Witness in Exile, will be published by Louisiana Literature Press in 2010. You can find more information about that and see some of my work by following the book icon.

I'm also a big user of new media, as my history of political and poetry blogging illustrates. I'm in the process of consolidating much of my blog work at present, but you can find my personal blog, along with my Twitter feed and links to my work at The Rumpus by clicking on the iPhone icon.

And finally, the gumbo pot. I was born in Texas but raised in Louisiana, and I've lived most of my life in the south, where cooking is more social event than chore. I plan on posting some recipes there. My tastes aren't cultivated enough for me to be a foodie, but I don't get complaints when I bring potato soup to a party.