Al Maginnes was born in Massachusetts and grew up in a number of states, mostly in the southeast. A former recipient of an Artist’s Grant from the North Carolina Arts Council, he has degrees in English and writing from East Carolina University and the University of Arkansas. He is the author of six full length collections, most recently Music From Small Towns (Jacar Press, 2014), winner of the Jacar Press poetry competition, and Inventing Constellations (Cherry Grove Collections, 2012), as well as four chapbooks. He lives with his family in Raleigh, North Carolina and teaches at Wake Technical Community College.