Joseph Blotner grew up in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. He has taught at the Universities of Idaho, Virginia, North Carolina, and Michigan. His writings include Robert Penn Warren: A Biography, the two-volume Faulkner: A Biography, and Selected Letters of William Faulkner. He has received numerous awards including the Guggenheim and Fulbright. Blotner is Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Michigan. His latest work is An Unexpected Life.