He has published twelve books of poetry. Most recently, Into the Punch Line: Poems 1984-1994 (1994), The German Lunatic (2000), and Calls from the Outside World (2006). His work has appeared in the American Poetry Review, Poetry Northwest, the World, Michigan Quarterly, Ploughshares, and The Nation, among many others.

He is also the recipient of various awards, including two creative writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. He works as the executive director of the Print Center and as a co-editor of Hanging Loose Press and Hanging Loose magazine in Brooklyn, NY. He has edited various collections, including Smart Like Me and Shooting the Rat, collections of High School writing..

He lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife Donna Brook.