LIA PURPURA is the author of seven collections of essays, poems, and translations. Her essay collection On Looking was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her other honors include Guggenheim, NEA, and Fulbright Fellowships, three Pushcart Prizes, and inclusion in the Best American Essays anthology series. Purpura is a writer in residence at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and also teaches in the Rainier Writing Workshop MFA Program.