Originally from the flatlands of central Illinois, Justin Hamm now lives near Mark Twain territory in Missouri. He is the founding editor of the museum of americana and the author of a full-length collection, Lessons in Ruin (Aldrich Press, forthcoming), and two chapbooks Illinois, My Apologies (RockSaw Press, 2011) and The Everyday Parade/Alone With Turntable, Old Records (Crisis Chronicles, 2013). Recent work has also been selected for the Stanley Hanks Memorial Poetry Prize from the St. Louis Poetry Center.