Julien Strong is the author of four books, including two poetry collections, Tour of the Breath Gallery, winner of the Walt McDonald First-Book Prize, and The Mouth of Earth, and two novels, The Fainting Room and Burning the Sea. Their poems have appeared or are forthcoming in many journals, including POETRY, The Nation, The Southern Review, Southwest Review, Poetry Daily, River Styx, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and The Sun. The recipient of a grant from the Connecticut Arts Council, a Promise Award from the Sustainable Arts Foundation, and the Elizabeth Matchett Stover Award from Southwest Review, Julien is an Assistant Professor of English at Central Connecticut State University, where they teach creative writing.