Gillian Conoley is the author of several collections of poetry, including The Plot Genie (2009), Profane Halo (2005), and Some Gangster Pain (1987).  She has received four Pushcart Prizes, the Academy of American Poets Award, a fellowship from the Washington State Arts Commission, and the Jerome J. Shestack Award from The American Poetry Review.  She is currently a Professor of English at Sonoma State University.