Ishmael Reed is a novelist, poet, playwright, and essayist who has published nine critically acclaimed novels and more than a dozen other books of poetry and essays. In additional to being nominated for a National Book Award for Poetry, recent awards have included the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Award, a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and 2008 Blues Songwriter of the Year from the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame. He is Professor Emeritus at University of California at Berkeley.
Carla Blank is a writer, editor, teacher, and performance artist. She is author and editor of the historical reference Rediscovering America: The Making of Multicultural America, 1900-2000, and co-author, with Jody Roberts, of the performance arts handbook Live On Stage! Her collaboration with Robert Wilson, entitled Kool, will premiere at the Guggenheim Museum in 2009. She lives in Oakland, California.