Kyle McCord is the author of six books of poetry, including Magpies in the Valley of Oleanders (Trio House, 2016), Gentle, World, Gentler (Ampersand books, 2015), and You Are Indeed an Elk, But This is Not the Forest You Were Born to Graze (Gold Wake Press, 2014). His work has appeared in Boston Review, Blackbird, Michigan Quarterly Review, Kenyon Review, AGNI, and elsewhere. He lives in Des Moines, Iowa, with his wife, the visual artist Lydia Thies. (updated 4/2018)