Patrick Russell LeBeau is Director of the American Indian Studies Program and Associate Professor of American Thought and Language, where he teaches composition and Native American Studies. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. LeBeau has published several articles and made many presentations on general topics of Native American history and culture, most recently a chapter in a book on Indian mascots entitled, "The Fighting Braves of Michigamua: Adopting the Visage of American Indian Warriors in the Halls of Academia." In October of 1999, his first book of poetry, Stands Alone, Faces and Other Poems, was published. He is currently working on a book length curriculum unit tentatively titled Michigan Indians Yesterday and Today: A Teacher's Guide and Resource. He is on the board of the Nokomis Native American Cultural Learning Center http://www.nokomis.org/Index.htm

LeBeau is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation of South Dakota, where his father is from. His mother is from Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, North Dakota. http://www.msu.edu/~atl/faculty_staff/lebeau.html

Mike Delp's essays, poetry and fiction have been published in a wide range of magazines, and he is the author of three books: OVER THE GRAVES OF HORSES (1988), a collection of poems; UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF WATER (1992), a collection of essays, poems and short stories; and THE COAST OF NOWHERE: A MEDITATION ON RIVERS, LAKES AND STREAMS (1997).

Of Under the Influence of Water, Rick Bass writes: "Honest, innocent and lusting-by turns abstract and then specific, in the manner of all loves. Delp hears, sees, tastes and writes about another world, one that he sees just at the edge of the trees, just into the shadows. This book was written by a man with a clean heart."

Delp received his B.A. from Alma College, and has also studied at Western Michigan University and Central Michigan University. He has twice been the winner of the Passages North/NEH Poetry Competition, and has won a PEN Syndicated Fiction Award. He is the editor of Contemporary Michigan Poetry: The Third Coast. He is the director of creative writing at the Interlochen Arts Academy http://www.interlochen.org/academy/

Anca Vlasopolos is Professor and Head of Comparative Literature in Wayne State University's English Department. She specializes in comparative literature, feminist studies, and contemporary women's drama. Dr. Vlasopolos received her B.A. in English from Wayne State University in 1970, her M.A. in Comparative Literature in 1971 from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Michigan in 1977. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Vlasopolos has published poetry, novels and a memoir. Her memoir No Return Address: A Memoir of Displacement was published by Columbia University Press in 2000. Her mystery/police procedural set in Detroit, Missing Members, was published in 1990. Her essay "Where All the Lights Were Bright" was included in Peninsula: Essays and Memoirs by Michigan Writers ( Michigan State University Press, 2000). Ridgeway press published her poetry collections, Through the Straits, At Large, in 1997, and The Evidence of Spring, in 1989.. Her scholarly work is voluminous, and is wide-ranging, including an article in Science Fiction Studies #30 (July 1983) on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Visit her on the web at Wayne State University: http://www.cla.wayne.edu/comparativelit/

Marc Sheehan was born in Grand Rapids MI in 1954. He holds degrees in English from Western Michigan University, Central Michigan University, and the University of Michigan. His poems, fictions, and essays have appeared in Apalachee Quarterly, Atlanta Review, Kansas Quarterly, Louisville Review, Michigan Quarterly, and others.His poetry has been included in New Poems from the Third Coast, an anthology of contemporary poetry. His essay, "A Different Kind of Priest" appeared in Peninsula: Essays and Memoirs by Michigan Writers (MSU Press). His latest book of poetry is Greatest Hits, published by New Issues Press. He has been awarded grants from the NEA and the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs. He is currently the associate editor and book review editor for the journal Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction. "These are such well-made poems. Manifest is the sharp edge of self-editing and a careful ear. Sheehan understands the traffic between myth and biography, the space between utterance and quiet. Greatest Hits is a powerful and welcome debut." Thomas Lynch, Michigan Poet