A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Alan Shapiro was born in Boston Massachusetts in 1952. He received his BA from Brandeis University, and taught for the last 25 years at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Recipient of numerous awards and honors, he has published many books of poetry, including, most recently, Proceed to Check Out, Against Translation, Reel to Reel (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize) and Night of the Republic (finalist for both the National Book Award and the International Griffin Prize). He has also published several books of critical essays, a novel (Broadway Baby), and translations of Greek tragedy.