Charlie Smith is a poet and novelist who has written seven novels and seven books of poetry. His most recent books include the novel Canaan (Harper Perennial) and the book of poetry Demo (Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.). He has won the Aga Khan Prize, the Levinson prize, the J. Howard and Barbara M.J. Wood prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.