Kevin Hart was born in 1954 in the village of Ockenden near London, and grew up in London and Brisbane. He has published several books of poetry in Britain, Australia and America, including Flame Tree: Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2002) and his latest collection, Young Rain (Bloodaxe Books, 2009). His award-winning poetry has been translated into several languages, including Chinese. He is also the author of several volumes of literary criticism and theology. He teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.