Henri Cole was born in Fukuoka, Japan, in 1956. He has published nine collections of poetry, including Middle Earth, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer. He has received many awards for his work, including the Jackson Prize, the Kingsley Tufts Award, the Rome Prize, the Berlin Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Lenore Marshall Award. His most recent collection is Nothing to Declare. He teaches at Claremont McKenna College.