Mark Doty
Poet
Award-winning author and poet known for My Alexandria and other AIDS-epidemic-themed works. He was the 2008 recipient of the National Book Award for Poetry.
He attended Drake University and Goddard College. He published his debut poetry collection -- Turtle, Swan -- in 1987.
He taught at many universities, including Princeton, Columbia, and New York University.
His long-term partner, Wally Roberts, died of AIDS in 1994. After Roberts' death, Doty went on to marry Paul Lisicky, whom he divorced in 2013.
He was inspired by the work of William Carlos Williams.