Joseph Bathanti

About

American poet and author known for Land of Amnesia, The Feast of All Saints, and other works. Also a college professor, he taught creative writing at North Carolina's Appalachian State University.

Before Fame

He studied at the University of Pittsburgh and, upon graduation, began working for the North Carolina prison service branch of the Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) program.

Trivia

He worked for the North Carolina Visiting Artist Program in the 1980s.

Family Life

He grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He married Joan Bathanti, with whom he had two children.

Associated With

In 2012 he became the Poet Laureate of North Carolina, a position that poet Fred Chappell had previously held.