Mark Irwin is the author of six collections of poetry, including Tall If (New Issues / Western Michigan University Press, 2008), Bright Hunger (BOA Editions, 2004), and White City (BOA Editions, 2000). A new collection, American Urn: New & Selected Poems (1987– 2011), will appear in 2012 from Ashland Poetry Press. He has received numerous awards, including the Discovery/The Nation Award, the James Wright Poetry Award, and four Pushcart Prizes. He has also received fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship Program, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico. Irwin is an associate professor of English at the University of Southern California.  

Photo by University of Southern California