This episode, written by James Reiss, is part of the "Writers Write 11 Central Ave" series. James Reiss's surname rhymes with "peace." His latest book is Riff on Six: New and Selected Poems (Salt Publishing, 2003). In 2008 Rager Media will publish his novel, Facade for a Penny Arcade. His work has appeared in such places as The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, The Hudson Review, The Nation, The New Republic, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Poetry, and Slate, plus anthologies, textbooks, and Web sites. His first poetry collection, The Breathers, was nominated for the National Book Award. His fourth book of poems, Ten Thousand Good Mornings, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. He received writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ohio Arts Council, and the New York Foundation for the Arts, as well as awards from the Academy of American Poets, the College English Association of Ohio, the Ohioana Library Association, the Poetry Society of America, the Unterberg Poetry Center of the 92nd Street Y in New York, and the Pushcart Press. He is Professor Emeritus of English at Miami University and Founding Editor of Miami University Press in Oxford, Ohio.

This episode, written by James Reiss, is part of the "Writers Write 11 Central Ave" series. James Reiss's surname rhymes with "peace." His latest book is Riff on Six: New and Selected Poems (Salt Publishing, 2003). In 2008 Rager Media will publish his novel, Facade for a Penny Arcade. His work has appeared in such places as The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, The Hudson Review, The Nation, The New Republic, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Poetry, and Slate, plus anthologies, textbooks, and Web sites. His first poetry collection, The Breathers, was nominated for the National Book Award. His fourth book of poems, Ten Thousand Good Mornings, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. He received writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ohio Arts Council, and the New York Foundation for the Arts, as well as awards from the Academy of American Poets, the College English Association of Ohio, the Ohioana Library Association, the Poetry Society of America, the Unterberg Poetry Center of the 92nd Street Y in New York, and the Pushcart Press. He is Professor Emeritus of English at Miami University and Founding Editor of Miami University Press in Oxford, Ohio.