Susan Settlemyre Williams, Blackbird book review editor and associate literary editor, holds an MFA in poetry from VCU.  Her poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in the Mississippi Review, River City, Shenandoah, The Cream City Review, storySouth, Poetry Southeast, and other journals.  She has a chapbook, Possession, scheduled for publication in 2007 by Finishing Line Press. Her book-length manuscript Ashes in Midair has been a runner-up in several recent competitions, and one of her poems was co-winner of the 2006 Diner poetry contest and selected for Best New Poets 2006 (Samovar).  She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle.