Paul Christensen’s latest book of poems, The Jack of Diamonds is a Hard Card to Play, bids a satiric, and occasionally surreal farewell to Texas, where he lived and worked for thirty-seven years. He has published seven other collections of poems, notably The Human Condition, published by Wings Press in San Antonio. His short stories and essays have appeared throughout the country, and his prose books include studies of poets, two memoirs on Texas and southern France, and guides to writing poetry. He lives in Vermont and spends summers in southern France.