Carol Muske-Dukes

Carol Muske-Dukes is professor and founder of the graduate program in literature and creative writing at the University of Southern California and also teaches at Columbia University. She is the author of three novels, including Life After Death, and seven poetry collections, including Sparrow, a National Book Award finalist, and An Octave Above Thunder, nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her collection of essays on Hollywood, Married to the Icepick Killer, was named a Best Book of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle. Muske-Dukes is the recipient of many awards, among them a Guggenheim fellowship. A former poetry columnist for the Los Angeles Times Book Review, she has reviewed and written extensively for The New York Times. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Muske-Dukes lives in New York City and Los Angeles.