Dave Etter was born in California in 1928. He settled in northern Illinois in 1958 and worked as an editor for several book publishers. He has won prize from the Society of Midland Authors,Poetry Northwest (Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize)and the Illinois Sesquicentennial Commission. In 1982 his book West of Chicago(Spoon River,1981)won the Carl Sandburg Award in poetry.Etter's poem have appeared in over a hundred textbooks and anthologies. His other works include The Essentail Dave Etter (Spoon River,2001),and Sunflower Country (Spoon River,1994).