Abayomi Animashaun is a Nigerian émigré. He holds an MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a PhD from the University of Kansas. His poems have appeared in several print and online journals, including Diode, TriQuarterly, The Cortland Review, African American Review, Southern Indiana Review, The Adirondack Review, Passages North, and Versedaily. A recipient of the Hudson Prize and a grant from the International Center for Writing and Translation, Abayo is the author of three poetry collections, Seahorses, SAILING FOR ITHACA (Black Lawrence Press, 2014), and THE GIVING OF PEARS (Black Lawrence Press, 2010), and the editor of three anthologies, FAR VILLAGES: WELCOME ESSAYS FOR NEW & BEGINNER POETS (Black Lawrence Press, 2020), OTHERS WILL ENTER THE GATES: IMIGRANT POETS ON POETRY, INFLUENCES, AND WRITING IN AMERICA (Black Lawrence Press, 2015), and Walking the Tightrope: Poetry and Prose by LGBTQ Writers from Africa (with Spectra, Tatenda Muranda, Irwin Iradunkunda, and Timothy Kimutai). A member of the Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission, Abayo teaches writing and literature at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh and lives with his wife and two children in Green Bay, Wisconsin.