Eric Atkins was born in Springfield, TN but soon made my way to Decatur, AL where he grew up without incident.  He obtained my B.A. in English from Auburn University—Montgomery in May of 2001 and began graduate study at Middle Tennessee State University the following fall.  IHe is a second year M.A. candidate and am serving as a graduate teaching assistant. His main areas of interest are Renaissance poetry, mainly the poetry of John Donne and Ben Jonson, and Irish literature, especially W. B. Yeats and Frank O’Connor.  Eric reports: "I have found that I am interested in poetry of all kinds from writers of many different eras and nationalities.  I am currently at work on my thesis, a critical edition of John Donne’s “The Relique,” for The Variorum Edition of the Poetry of John Donne.  I also dabble in writing my own poetry and have published several small pieces in The Filibuster, the literary magazine of Auburn University—Montgomery."