Mairéad Byrne is an Irish poet who immigrated to the United States in 1994. She earned a PhD in English Literature from Purdue University in 2001 and lives with her two daughters in Providence, Rhode Island, where she teaches poetry at Rhode Island School of Design. She is the author of four collections, THE BEST OF (WHAT'S LEFT OF) HEAVEN (Publishing Genius Press, 2010), TALK POETRY (Miami University Press, 2007), SOS Poetry (/ubu Editions, 2007), and Nelson & The Huruburu Bird (Wild Honey Press, 2003), five chapbooks, and two plays.