Bob Curran is a prolific writer and expert on Celtic culture and folklore and has penned more than fifty books in eleven languages. He teaches in Ireland and lectures throughout Northern Europe and the United States on folklore and education. Born in Northern Ireland, he held a series of odd jobs in the United Kingdom and the Americas before returning to his native land, including gravedigger, journalist, scriptwriter, mortuary attendant, and radio programmer. Curran has also worked on underground publications, including Oz, a counterculture magazine in London, and as an educational and cultural adviser for the government of Ireland. James P. Cantrell studied Gaelic and Cymric languages and Irish literature for his M.A. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later earned his Ph.D. in American literature with an emphasis on Southern literature from the University of Arkansas.