Mark Yakich is Professor of English at Loyola University New Orleans, USA, Editor of New Orleans Review, and a poet and novelist. He is the author of Unrelated Individuals Forming a Group Waiting to Cross (National Poetry Series, Penguin 2004), The Making of Collateral Beauty (Snowbound Chapbook Award, Tupelo 2006), and The Importance of Peeling Potatoes in Ukraine (Penguin 2008). His next two poetry collections, Poetry for Planes and Spiritual Exercises, are forthcoming with Eyewear and Penguin, respectively.

Yakich's irreverent style, conversational tone, and quirky illustrations make for a guide that will be both instructive and entertaining for anyone interested in learning more about reading and writing poetry.

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