Joseph Bathanti, son of a union steelworker and union seamstress, respectively, grew up in Pittsburgh. He is the former Poet Laureate of North Carolina (2012-14) and recipient of the 2016 North Carolina Award in Literature. He is the author of ten books of poetry, four books of fiction, and two books of nonfiction. Bathanti is McFarlane Family Distinguished Professor of Interdisciplinary Education & Writer-in-Residence of Appalachian State University’s Watauga Residential College in Boone, NC.