The Joy Addict

JAMES HARMS is the author of five books of poetry from Carnegie Mellon University Press, After West (2008), Freeways and Aqueducts (2004), Quarters (2001), The Joy Addict (1998, 2009), and Modern Ocean (1992), as well as a letterpress, limited edition volume, East of Avalon (2000) from Caddis Case Press. His poems, essays and short stories have appeared in Poetry, The Kenyon Review, The Antioch Review, Denver Quarterly, The Gettysburg Review, TriQuarterly, Ploughshares, The American Poetry Review, Verse, The North American Review, Oxford American and many other literary journals; in addition, he is a contributing editor to West Branch. Harms has received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Creative Writing, the PEN/Revson Fellowship, fellowships from the West Virginia and Pennsylvania Arts Commissions, and three Pushcart Prizes. Since arriving at West Virginia University, he has been named a Benedum Distinguished Scholar, The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teacher, The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Researcher (twice), and The Carnegie Foundation/CASE United State Teacher of the Year for West Virginia. He was the founding director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at West Virginia University, where he is currently Professor of English; he also directs the MFA Program in Poetry at New England College. During the spring semester of 2008 he served as Poet in Residence at Bucknell University. Harms lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, with his wife Amanda, and their children.