Rodney Jones is the author of eight books of poetry: Salvation Blues: 100 Poems, 1985–2005 (2006), Kingdom of the Instant: Poems (2004), Elegy for the Southern Drawl (1999), Things That Happen Once (1996), Apocalyptic Narrative (1993), and Transparent Gestures (1989), all from Houghton Mifflin, as well as The Unborn (Atlantic Monthly, 1985) and The Story They Told Us of Light (Alabama, 1980). He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His other honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Peter IB Lavan Award from the Academy of American Poets, the Jean Stein Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, a Southeast Booksellers Association Award, a Harper Lee Award, and the 1989 National Book Critics Circle Award.