A native of Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, Simon Ortiz is a poet, fiction writer, essayist, and storyteller.  His works include Out There Somewhere, Men on the Moon, From Sand Creek, After and Before the Lightning, and a children’s book, The People Shall Continue.  His awards include the National Endowment for the Arts, Lila Wallace-Readers Digest, a Lannan Foundation writing residency, a Returning the Gift Lifetime Achievement Award, and the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in Art.  He is currently a professor in the English Department at the University of Toronto.