JACK BUTLER was born in Alligator, Mississippi, and now lives in Oaklahoma, writing and painting. He has degrees in English, Mathematics and Writing, and has been a Baptist preacher, a fried-pie salesman, an actuarial analyst, Supervisor for Capital Recovery of the Arkansas Public Service Commission, the Assistant Dean of Hendrix College and Director of Creative Writing at the College of Santa Fe. Butler's books of poetry include West of Hollywood (August House, 1980) and The Kid Who Wanted To Be a Spaceman (August House, 1984). His poetry has appeared in The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Poetry and other journals. He has also published four novels, including the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Living In Little Rock With Miss Little Rock and the recent Dreamers (Knopf, 1998).