William Kistler studied Literature and Philosophy at Stanford. He was on the board of Poets and Writers from 1976 to 1992 and was president from 1980 to 1985. In 1983 he co-founded Poets House and served as treasurer until 2000. He is the author of four earlier volumes of poetry including The Elizabeth Sequence, which won the Oklahoma Book Award and was the co-editor of a collection of essays Buying America Back. His fifth collection of poetry is In the Middle of Things (Zig-Zag). In these 64 “studies,” the range of form and content—lyric, philosophical, political, cosmic—rivals the most accomplished contemporary poetry. Originality and intellectual fervor are at the heart of Kistler’s work.
