Neil Nakadate is the University Professor of English at Iowa State University. He teaches courses on American Literature since 1914, contemporary fiction, U.S. minority literatures, rhetoric and writing. Dr. Nakadate is the author of seven books, including Understanding Jane Smiley (South Carolina, 1999); Writing in the Liberal Arts Tradition: A Rhetoric With Readings (Harper & Row, 1990); and Robert Penn Warren: Critical Perspectives (Kentucky, 1981). He is also interested in sports writing as literature and poetry. Dr. Nakadate studied English at Stanford, graduating with honors in Humanities and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English from Indiana University.