Rich Haswell grew up on a 40-acre family farm in southern Missouri. For the first 11 years of his life, he was deprived of electricity and sidewalks. For the first 18 years, he was misled into thinking that PASSAGE TO INDIA had been written by the author of the Captain Horatio Hornblower books. Armed with that understanding, he proceeded to acquire a BA in English (U of Missouri), an MA in English (U of Washington), and a Phd in English (U of Missouri). And armed with those degrees, he joined the English department at Washington State University and proceeded to become director of composition. For 29 years at WSU, he taught British Romanticism, post WWII American poetry, and six ways to sneak the sentence fragment by academic readers. Not that any of this advanced his career much. But periodically, he escaped to Spanish speaking environs, where norteamericanos can get by with all kinds of solecisms (Puebla, Mexico; Antiqua, Guatemala; Ayacucho, Peru; Quito, Ecuador). He has published in nearly every writing journal around, fruitlessly trying to persuade the comp literati that numbers are our friends. Published a book, fruitlessly trying to persuade the profession that writing students in college are still under development, that is, still alive. Has two daughters, one step-daughter, four step-sons. Married to a woman who is a lot smarter than he is (the least of her accomplishments). Currently he is Haas Professor of English at Texas A & M--Corpus Christ. Corpus Christi, where the living is f?cil y dulce, and where tomatillos are really cheap.