A native California writer, Joanne Kyger is the author of more than 20 books of poetry. She is known for her ties to the poets of Black Mountain College, the San Francisco Renaissance, and the Beat Generation. Her most recent books are About Now: Collected Poems, 1957-2004 (National Poetry Foundation, 2007) and Not Veracruz (Libellum Press, 2007). She taught for many years at Naropa University's poetics program, and The New College of San Francisco. She lives on the coast north of San Francisco.