Author. Wrote a book, Life After Death, in which a woman's husband dies of a heart attack on a tennis court. Shortly after the book was completed, her husband, David Dukes, went to play tennis and died of a heart attack.
Since 1993 she has taught at the University of Southern California, where she founded the PhD in Creative Writing and Literature.
BA from Creighton University; MA from San Francisco State University.
Was named California's State Poet Laureate by then-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, serving from 2008 to 2011.
Has published five collections of poetry, including 'Sparrow' (2003), which was a National Book Award finalist.
Published an essay collection called 'Married to the Ice Pick Killer: A Poet in Hollywood' (2002), which humorously describes her encounters with Hollywood following her marriage to actor David Dukes.