Gaylord Brewer is a professor at Middle Tennessee State University, where he founded and edits the journal, Poems & Plays. He has published four collections of poetry: Presently A Beast (1996), Devilfish (1999), Four Nails (2001), winner of the Snail’s Pace Poetry Prize, and the forthcoming Barbaric Mercies (Red Hen Press, 2003). He has published his award-winning work in over 500 magazines and journals. His books of criticism include David Mamet and Film (McFarland, 1993) and Charles Bukowski (Twayne/Macmillan, 1997).