Cathryn Essinger is the author of four previous books of poetry, most recently WINGS OR DOES THE CATERPILLAR DREAM OF FLIGHT (Dos Madres Press, 2020) and THE APRICOT AND THE MOON, released this spring from Dos Madres Press. Her other books include A Desk in the Elephant House, from Texas Tech University Press, as well as My Dog Does Not Read Plato and What I Know About Innocence, both from Main Street Rag. Essinger's poems have appeared in a wide variety of journals including Poetry, The Southern Review, The New England Review, The Antioch Review, Rattle, and River Styx. Her poems have been nominated for Pushcarts and "Best of the Net," featured on The Writer's Almanac, and reprinted in American Life in Poetry. Essinger is a retired professor of English and a long standing member of The Greenville Poets. She lives in Troy, Ohio where she raises butterflies and tries to live up to her dog's expectations.