HENRY VAN DYKE (1928–2011) grew up in Montgomery, Alabama. He studied music at the University of Michigan, hoping to become a concert pianist, then devoted himself to writing, and spent most of his adult life in New York City. He taught creative writing at Kent State University until his retirement in 1993, and was the author of four novels, including Blood of Strawberries, a sequel to Ladies of the Rachmaninoff Eyes.
ERIK WOOD is an architect and urban designer whose clients have included the Hudson River Park Conservancy, the Port of San Diego, and the State of Qatar. He is Henry Van Dyke’s nephew and literary executor.