James Cummins is an American poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

.

Biography

Cummins teaches at the University of Cincinnati and is the curator

Curator

A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...

 of the Elliston Poetry Collection. He is married to the poet and art critic

Art critic

An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...

, Maureen Bloomfield (Error and Angels, University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

, 1997). They have two daughters.

His poems have appeared in The Best American Poetry series in 1994

The Best American Poetry 1994

The Best American Poetry 1994, a volume in The Best American Poetry series, was edited by David Lehman and by guest editor A. R. Ammons.-Poets and poems included:-External links:* , with links to each publication where the poems originally appeared...

, 1995

The Best American Poetry 1995

The Best American Poetry 1995, a volume in The Best American Poetry series, was edited by David Lehman and by guest editor Richard Howard....

, 1998

The Best American Poetry 1998

The Best American Poetry 1999, a volume in The Best American Poetry series, was edited by David Lehman and by guest editor John Hollander.-Poets and poems included:-External links:...

, and 2005

The Best American Poetry 2005

The Best American Poetry 2005, a volume in The Best American Poetry series, was edited by David Lehman and by guest editor Paul Muldoon....

. Series editor David Lehman

David Lehman

David Lehman is a poet and the series editor for The Best American Poetry series. He teaches at The New School in New York City.-Career:...

 thanked Cummins for "useful suggestions" in the 2005

The Best American Poetry 2005

The Best American Poetry 2005, a volume in The Best American Poetry series, was edited by David Lehman and by guest editor Paul Muldoon....

 and 2006

The Best American Poetry 2006

The Best American Poetry 2006, a volume in The Best American Poetry series, was edited by David Lehman , and poet Billy Collins, guest editor....

 editions of the series.

Published books

• Portrait in a Spoon (University of South Carolina, 1997)
• The Whole Truth (North Point, 1986; Carnegie Mellon, 2003)
• Then and Now (Swallow Press, 2004)
• Jim and Dave Defeat the Masked Man (Soft Skull Press, 2005, with David Lehman
  David Lehman
  David Lehman is a poet and the series editor for The Best American Poetry series. He teaches at The New School in New York City.-Career:...
  
   and Archie Rand
  Archie Rand
  Archie Rand is an artist from Brooklyn, New York. Rand's work as a painter and muralist is displayed around the world, including in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Bibliothèque Nationale de...
  
  ).