Rowan Ricardo Phillips is the author of two books of poems (Heaven and The Ground) and two essay collections (The Circuit and When Blackness Rhymes with Blackness). As well as being a finalist for the Griffin Poetry Prize, his awards include a Whiting Award, the PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award for Poetry, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing and the Nicolás Guillén Outstanding Book Award. Phillips lives in New York City and Barcelona.