Philip Raisor is the author of eight books of poetry, nonfiction, and criticism, as well as numerous scholarly articles, essays, reviews, and interviews in such journals as The Southern Review, The Sewanee Review, Prairie Schooner, The Writer's Chronicle, Studies in English Literature, and Contemporary Literature. In his teen years, he played on the losing team in the state championship game in Indiana that inspired Hoosiers, and was a freshman on the team with Wilt Chamberlain that lost a national championship in triple-overtime. Raisor received his B.A and M.A from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. from Kent State, where he was active in the protest movements of the 60's. He taught at various universities and is now professor emeritus of English at Old Dominion University, where he initiated the creative writing program, a visiting writers series, and the annual literary festival.