Keith Gilyard is Edwin Erie Sparks professor of English and African American studies at Penn State University as well as past president of the National Council of Teachers of English. A two-time recipient of an American Book Award, Gilyard has lectured widely on language, literature, education, and civic affairs over the course of his career as a poet, scholar, and educator. In addition to publishing numerous essays, he has authored or edited seventeen books, including the education memoir Voices of the Sel