South Dakota State Poet Laureate Lee Ann Roripaugh is the author of four volumes of poetry: Dandarians, On the Cusp of a Dangerous Year, Year of the Snake and Beyond Heart Mountain. She was named winner of the Association of Asian American Studies Book Award in Poetry/Prose for 2004 and winner of the National Poetry Series in 1998. Roripaugh is a Professor of English at the University of South Dakota, where she serves as Director of Creative Writing and Editor-in-Chief of South Dakota Review.