Albert J. Garcia is a native of Northern California. He grew up on a walnut orchard near Red Bluff, and much of his work has a connection to the valley. He graduated from California State University, Chico, and the University of Montana. He is the author of a book of poetry, Rainshadow: Poems, published by Copper Beech Press, and of a textbook, Digging in: Literature for Developing Writers. His poems have appeared in Prairie Schooner, The Laurel Review, Poetry East, Mid-American Review, Yankee, The North American Review, and other journals. Among his awards, he has received an Emerging Artists Fellowship from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission. A former naturalist at Lassen Volcanic National Park, Garcia currently lives in the rural community of Wilton, California, with his wife and three children. He has taught community college English for 22 years, and serves as dean of the Language and Literature Division at Sacramento State City College.