Suzanne Buffam is the author of two collections of poetry, The Irrationalist, which was shortlisted for the 2011 Griffin Poetry Prize, and Past Imperfect, which won the Gerald Lampert Award for the best first book of poetry published in Canada in 2005. She teaches creative writing at the University of Chicago.

Robert Fernandez is the author of We Are Pharaoh (2011) and Pink Reef (forthcoming). He is the recipient of awards from the Andrew W. Mellon foundation, the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and the Gertrude Stein Awards for Innovative Poetry. He was recently named a New American Poet by the Poetry Society of America.

UMMA is pleased to be the site for the Department of English Program in Creative Writing Zell Visiting Writers Series, which brings outstanding writers each semester. The Series is made possible through a generous gift from UM alumna Helen Zell ('64). For more information, please see www.lsa.umich.edu/english/grad/mfa/mfaeve.asp.