Jon Ballard is an occasional writing and literature instructor for Oakland Community College in Royal Oak, Michigan. His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Soundings East, The MacGufn, Boxcar Poetry Review, The Rock Salt Plum Review, The Centrifugal Eye, The Valparaiso Poetry Review, Blue Earth Review, Boston Literary Magazine and others. His first chapbook, entitled Lonesome, is due in 2007 from Pudding House Press. Jon received a B.A. and an M.A. in English from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. Born and raised in Michigan, he currently lives in Mexico City, Mexico. Contact: jon_betsy@yahoo.com.