Carolyn Elkins is an American poet, award-winning teacher, and editor. She has published three books and over 100 poems in journals in the United States and abroad. Elkins is the associate editor of Tar River Poetry

Tar River Poetry

Tar River Poetry is a literary journal published by East Carolina University . Published twice a year , the 64-page journal consists of submitted written works of poetry, critical essays, and book reviews. The journal is named for the Tar River, which runs through Greenville, NC...

, the poetry and fiction editor of POMPA, and a founding editor of Ruby Shoes Press. She received a Mississippi Humanities Council teaching award in 1999 and the Excellence in Teaching Award at Delta State University

Delta State University

Delta State University, also known as DSU, is a regional public university located in Cleveland, Mississippi, United States, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta...

 in 2005, and she has taught in the Poets in Person Program sponsored by the NEH and Poetry magazine. She received a B.A. in English from Wells College

Wells College

Wells College is a private coeducational liberal arts college located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake. Initially an all-women's institution, Wells became a co-ed college in Fall 2005....

 and an M.A. in English from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She lives with her husband Bill Spencer in Cullowhee, North Carolina

Cullowhee, North Carolina

Cullowhee is a census-designated place in Jackson County, North Carolina, United States. Cullowhee is best known for being the home of Western Carolina University . The population was 9,428 as of the 2010 census. The area known as Cullowhee has Western Carolina University, part of the UNC...

.