ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Larry Janowski is a native Chicagoan, son of a used car dealer, a teacher, short story writer, poet, and real-life Friar Lawrence. He began his professional writing career as a reporter and editor with the Associated Press. A thorough Midwesterner, Larry grew up on the South Side of Chicago, went away to prep school in Wisconsin, got his BA back in Chicago at the University of Illinois, went to grad school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and seminary at Aquinas Institute of Theology in Dubuque, Iowa. Only his MFA is from out east: Vermont College. He joined the Franciscans in 1968, and was ordained in 1973.

He has won prizes in fiction (The Critic, Praying Magazine) and poetry at Literal Latté ("Gypsy" chosen by Cornelius Eady) and River Oak Review. He's received development grants from the state of Wisconsin and city of Chicago, a residency at The Blue Mountain Center, and the J.R.H. Moorman Scholarship at St. Deiniol's Residential Library in Great Britain. He has published two chapbooks: Chicago Cantata (2001) and Celibate Dazzled (2003). Janowski is an adjunct professor of English at Dominican University and at Wilbur Wright Community College where he was named the City Colleges of Chicago Distinguished Part Time Professor 2001-2002.

After living and working for almost 30 years in southeastern Wisconsin, Larry returned to Chicago in 1995, still madly in love with the city, its people and skyline, its music and noise, its art and style, its poetry.

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