Alan Berecka, the grandson of Polish and Lithuanian immigrants, was raised in rural upstate New York. A librarian by trade, he is a professor of learning resources at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas. His poetry has appeared in many periodicals including The American Literary Review, The Texas Review, The Red River Review, The Blue Rock Review, Ruminate, and The San Antonio Express. He has published five collections of poetry, the latest of which is With Our Baggage, Lamar University Press, 2013.