Frank Xavier Gaspar is an American poet, novelist and professor of Portuguese descent. A number of his books treat Portuguese-American themes or settings, particularly the Portuguese community in Provincetown, Massachusetts. His most recent novel is Stealing Fatima (Counterpoint press, December, 2009). His most recent collection of poems is Late Rapturous (Autumn House Press, July, 2012). His fourth collection of poetry, Night of a Thousand Blossoms (Alice James Books, 2004) was one of 12 books honored as the "Best Poetry of 2004" by Library Journal. Gaspar's books have won many awards. His first collection of poetry, The Holyoke, won the 1988 Morse Poetry Prize (selected by Mary Oliver); Mass for the Grace of a Happy Death won the 1994 Anhinga Prize for Poetry (selected by Joy Harjo); A Field Guide to the Heavens won the 1999 Brittingham Prize in Poetry (selected by Robert Bly; his novel, Leaving Pico, won the California Book Award For First Fiction, and the Barnes & Noble Discovery Award., and Stealing Fatima was a Massbook of the year in fiction (Massachusetts Center for the Book). He has published poems in numerous journals and magazines, including The Nation, Harvard Review, The American Poetry Review, Kenyon ReviewThe Hudson Review, The Georgia Review, Ploughshares,Prairie Schooner, Mid-American Review, and Gettysburg Review. His poetry has been anthologized in Best American Poetry 1996 and 2000. He has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and The California Arts Commission, and received three Pushcart Prizes.