Joseph Bathanti, born and raised in Pittsburgh, teaches Creative Writing at Appalachian State University. Bathanti is the author of four books of poetry: Communion Partners, Anson County, The Feast of All Saints, and This Metal. His first novel, East Liberty, won the 2001 Carolina Novel Award. He is the recipient of a Literature Fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council; The Samuel Talmadge Ragan Award, presented annually for outstanding contributions to the Fine Arts of North Carolina over an extended period; the Linda Flowers Prize; the Sherwood Anderson Award, and others.