Forrest Gander (1956- ) was born in the Mojave Desert and grew up, for the most part, in Virginia. Trenchant periods of his life were spent in San Francisco, Dolores Hidalgo (Mexico), and Eureka Springs, Arkansas. With degrees in both geology and English literature, Gander is the author of numerous books of poetry, translation, fiction, and essays. He is the Adele Kellenberg Seaver Professor of Literary Arts and Comparative Literature at Brown University. A United States Artists Rockefeller Fellow, Gander has been the recipient of fellowships from the NEA, the Guggenheim, Howard, Witter Bynner and Whiting foundations. His 2011 collection Core Samples from the World is an NBCC finalist for poetry.