Born and raised in Chicago, Dwight Okita started writing poems in first grade because he couldn't write compositions. Tia Chucha Press published in 1992 his first poetry book, "Crossing with the Light," which featured his most reprinted poem, "In Response to Executive Order 9066," about the Japanese American internment camps. Dwight's sci-fi novel, The Prospect of My Arrival, was a top three finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Dwight is active in the SGI Buddhist community advocating for peace and culture. He is also a professional cuddler in a touch-starved world. He embraces his identities as a gay man, an Asian American, and as a neurodivergent human. A compulsive drinker of iced coffee and occasional slumber party host, he resides in Chicago. Visit him at www.dwightokita.com.