Chris Abani is the author of five books of poetry, including Hands Washing Water (Copper Canyon, 2006), Daphne’s Lot (Red Hen, 2003),and Kalakuta Republic (Saqi, 2000). His most recent work of prose is the novella Song for Night (Akashic Books, 2007), winner of the 2008 PEN Beyond Margins Award. Abani’s other awards include the PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, the Prince Claus Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and the PEN/Hemingway Award. He is an associate professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside, and has a PhD in literature and creative writing from the University of Southern California.  

Photo by Carlos Puma