The Harder They Fall (51 page)

Franz Wright is winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for poetry for
Walking to Martha’s Vineyard
. His searing yet luminous poems have been noted for their ability to “heal through expression.” Wright’s books of poetry include
The Beforelife
,
Ill Lit
, and
Rorschach Test
. He has received the PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry, as well as grants and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Born in Vienna, Austria, Wright is the son of poet James Wright, and grew up in the Northwest, the Midwest, and northern California. He and his wife, Elizabeth, a translator, live in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Gary Stromberg and Jane Merrill
are also the coauthors of
Feeding the Fame: Celebrities Tell Their Real-Life Stories of Eating Disorders and Recovery
.

Gary Stromberg cofounded Gibson & Stromberg, a large and influential public-relations firm of the seventies. He represented such luminaries as the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Muhammad Ali, Barbra Streisand, Boyz II Men, Neil Diamond, Ray Charles, The Doors, Earth, Wind & Fire, Elton John, Three Dog Night, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Stromberg coproduced the motion pictures Car Wash and
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
. He currently runs The Blackbird Group, a small public-relations firm in Westport, Connecticut, where he serves on the board of directors of Positive Directions, a center for prevention and recovery. His daughter is in high school and his son is a film student in college.

Jane Merrill has written on popular history, art, style, and relationships for dozens of popular magazines, including
Cosmopolitan
,
New York
,
The New Republic
,
Penthouse
,
Town & Country
,
American Health
,
Redbook
,
Connoisseur
,
Gallery
,
The Christian Science Monitor
, and
Vogue
. She has written several books on diverse topics, including bilingual education, beauty, child rearing, jewelry, and China (for young people). In the nineties, she switched to ghostwriting and research for several of the most noted writers in America. She has three master’s degrees from Harvard and Columbia, has worked and lived in Iran and France, and has raised four children—a corporate attorney, MIT scientist, Naval mechanic, and college student.

Contributor
Lewis Lapham
is generally regarded as one of America’s finest essayists. The former editor of
Harper’s Magazine
and now its national correspondent, he is the founder and editor of the new journal
Lapham’s Quarterly
.

Contributor
Stephen Davis
is the best-selling chronicler of musical luminaries. Among the subjects of his best-selling biographies are Jim Morrison, the Rolling Stones, and Aerosmith.