Marilyn Nelson is the author of six books of poetry, her most recent being The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems (LSU, 1997), which was a finalist for the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, the National Book Award, and the PEN Winship Award, and won the Poet's Prize. The Homeplace (LSU, 1990) was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the Annisfield-Wolf Award. Since 1978 she has taught at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, where she is a professor of English. She is the Poet Laureate of Connecticut.

About Smartish Pace:
Poets in this issue: Pamela Alexander, Edmund August, Barry Ballard, Walter Bargen, Catharine Savage Brosman, Joyce S. Brown, Frederick Buechner, Michael Burkard, Katharine Coles, Martha Collins, Mary Crow, Thomas Day, Carl Dennis, Stuart Dybek, Mark Halperin, Jeffrey Harrison, Colette Inez, Maxine Kumin, Ann Lauinger, William Logan, Mario Luzi, Clarence Major, David Middleton, Robert Murphy, Marilyn Nelson, Kevin Prufer, Bin Ramke, Vivian Shipley, Bruce Smith, David Starkey, Larissa Szporluk, Henry Taylor, Greg Williamson