Rich Villar is a poet, essayist, editor, and educator originally from Paterson, NJ. He serves as Artistic Director of La Sopa, a community-based program for writing and performance in NYC. His first collection, Comprehending Forever, was published by Willow Books in 2014. Most recently, he served as faculty for the Frost Place Conference on Poetry and Teaching, and he teaches poetry and essay writing in schools and nonprofit centers throughout the Northeast.