Joel Allegretti is the author of THE PLAGUE PSALMS, which appeared in 2000 and is now in its third edition, and FATHER SILICON, selected by THE KANSAS CITY STAR as one of 100 Noteworthy Books of 2006. Allegretti's work has appeared in many national journals, including THE NEW YORK QUARTERLY, MARGIE, THE LAUREL REVIEW, ART/LIFE LIMITED EDITIONS, RATTAPALLAX, SLIPSTREAM, CONFRONTATION, and XCP CROSS-CULTURAL POETICS. He is represented in the anthology CHANCE OF A GHOST (Helicon Nine Editions, 2005), and his poem in that collection received an Honorable Mention in the 2006 edition of THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR, published by St. Martin's Press. In April 2009, Kean University in New Jersey presented the world premiere of a song cycle based on Allegretti's poetry, "A Cycle by the Sea" by Frank Ezra Levy, who served several decades as cellist with the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra and whose symphonic work is available in the American Classics series on Naxos. Allegretti is a graduate of New York University and lives in Northern New Jersey. His website is www.joelallegretti.com.