Born and raised in rural western New York, he earned his Ph.D. in creative writing and literature from Texas Tech University, where he was a Chancellor’s Fellow. He also holds an M.A. from Ohio University and an M.F.A. from the University of Illinois. His poems have appeared in Tar River Poetry, New South, Ninth Letter, Poet Lore, Relief, and Birmingham Poetry Review. He has received scholarships to the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and Image Magazine’s GlenWest Workshop, and he has served as Managing Editor of Iron Horse Literary Review and Assistant Editor of Ninth Letter.