He received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia in 1983 and published his first full-length book, BYT, with the Oakland-based O Books in 1989. His other books are THE SUGAR BORDES (O Books, 1993), AETHER (Gaz, 1998), SADLY (Flood Editions, 2003), WATCHWORD (Flood Editions, 2006), and HALLUCINATION (Flood Editions, 2011). His chapbooks include The Coal Jealousies (1987), THE CENTRAL READER (Paradigm Press, 1999), Three Poems (2000), Roll (2000), Avoid Activity (2003), and Dry Land (2006). He is chief fiduciary officer of the Northern Trust Company in Chicago.