Christopher Merrill has published four collections of poetry, including Watch Fire, for which he received the Peter I. B. Read More Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets; several edited volumes, among them The Forgotten Language: Contemporary Poets and Nature; and four books of nonfiction, The Grass of Another Country: A Journey Through the World of Soccer, The Old Bridge: The Third Balkan War and the Age of the Refugee, Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars, and Things of the Hidden God: Journey to the Holy Mountain. He directs the International Writing Program at The University of Iowa.