CHARLES ALCORN was born and raised in the Coastal Bend of Texas. He serves on the faculty of University of Houston-Victoria and is the Managing Editor of "American Book Review." He graduated with his BA in Geology from Washington & Lee University, where he also played linebacker and threw the javelin and discus for four seasons. He received his MA in English from the University of Southern Mississippi's Center for Writers and his Ph.D. in Creative Writing/English Literature from the University of Houston. He currently splits teaching assignments between the UH campuses in Sugar Land and Victoria. He lives in mid-town Houston with wife Angela and two sons.