Dick Davis was born in Portsmouth, England, and was educated at the universities of Cambridge and Manchester.  He is currently Professor of Persian at Ohio State University.  He lived for 8 years in Iran, as well as for periods in Greece and Italy.  As author, translator or editor, he has produced 18 books; besides academic works, he has published translations of prose from Italian and poetry and prose from Persian, and six books of his own poetry.  His new collection, Belonging, will be published by Swallow/Ohio in the United States, and by Anvil Press in the United Kingdom, in May 2002.