Joseph PowellJoseph Powell was born and raised in Ellensburg, WA. He taught composition, literature, and creative writing at Central Washington University for thirty years. He was Central Washington University's Phi Beta Kappa Scholar of the Year (2004) and was aarded Distinguished University Professor in Artistic Accomplishment (2009). He retired from teaching in 2014. He has published seven previous collections of poetry. Counting the Change won the Quarterly Review of Literature's Book Award in 1986, and Ted Weiss wrote that Powell "demonstrates a rare command of particulars, of a world held firmly in view in all its sensuous details. Through this immediacy, and through a precision with people as well, he finds ways 'to love a crazy, careening world.'" Winter Insomnia was published by Arrowood Books in 1993. Getting Here, which also won the Quarterly Review of Literature's Book Award, was published in 1997. Hard Earth was published in 2010 by March Street Press; Mark Halperin wrote, "Attentive to craft and form, this is a poetry to turn to when you crave wisdom." Preamble to the Afterlife (2013) was also published by March Street Press, and Katharine Whitcomb wrote that "Powell's voice modulates meaning in the face of life's inexorable tableau of beauty and pain; his poetry sees within the unanswerable questions, and perseveres in its language of praise." The Slow Subtraction: ALS (2019) was published by MoonPath Press; Nancy Eimers wrote that "honesty is a difficult art; you will find its powersgrieve and restore you, over and over." Holding Nothing Back (2019) was published by Main Street Rag; David Guterson wrote that these poems "confront life intimately, with wounds bared, and with humility." He has also published four chapbooks: Aegean Dialogues (1998) from March Street Press, Greatest Hits 1980-2001 (Pudding House Publications, 2001), A Ring in Air (D-Press, 2003), and The Distance Between Us (D-Press, 2015). For his poetry he has won a National Endowment for the Arts Award (2009), an Artist Trust GAP Award (2005), the Tom Pier Award (2006); and twelve poems have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes from a variety of literary magazines. His book of short stories, Fish Grooming & Other Stories, was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award in 2008. He has also co-written a book on poetic meter called Accent on Meter published by the NCTE in 2004. An essay won the Victor J. Emmett Jr. Memorial Award from The Midwest Quarterly (2007). He lives with Lori Chandler on a small farm outside Ellensburg. Read More Read Less