Mary Mackey, New York Times best-selling author, became a poet by running high fevers, tramping through tropical jungles, being caught in volcanic eruptions, swarmed by army ants, threatened by poisonous snakes, and reading. She is the author of 14 novels and 8 collections of poetry including THE JAGUARS THAT PROWL OUR DREAMS, winner of the 2019 Eric Hoffer Award for the best book published by a small press.