Bill Lavender grew up in Arkansas—in Fayetteville, fortunately. In his twenties he came to New Orleans because he had met some poets from there and had read Bertolt Brecht's Mahagonny. Never planning to stay forever, always, in fact, on the verge of moving on, he is still there fifty years later. He worked as a carpenter and contractor for many years before serving a 15-year sentence in academia, after which he returned to the business, without regret. He started a small press in 1995 which has since grown to be Lavender Ink / Diálogos (lavenderink.org), and in 2011 he cofounded the New Orleans Poetry Festival. He lives in New Orleans with his wife and partner of 30 years, Nancy Dixon.

 city of god,
a collection by Bill Lavender, 
is now available from MadHat Press.