Niles Watterson, a poet and translator, grew up along the front range of the Colorado Rockies but has spent a significant portion of his life in the current and former authoritarian states of Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and Texas. His early university training is in Russian language and literature, and he translates from Russian and Czech into English. A world traveler at heart, his interests include the conflict between the individual and the state, religion, genocide, and the madness of crowds.