I got my Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate degrees in English at Binghamton University.  From 2000 to 2006, I've taught American Literature, Russian Literature in Translation, Creative Writing, and Composition at BU. I am currently a full-time Visiting Professor at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania. Major influences: Liz Rosenberg, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Ruth Stone; Prose poets, especially Baudelaire; Raymond Carver, Flannery O'Connor, Sherwood Anderson.