Paul Beatty’s books include two volumes of poetry, Big Bank Take Little Bank and Joker, Joker, Deuce, and two novels, The White Boy Shuffle and Tuff.  His work, which is influenced by hip-hop music and contemporary African American street culture, was described in The New York Times as “a blast of satirical heat from the talented heart of black American life.”  Beatty, who holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from Brooklyn College and an M.A. in psychology from Boston University, lives and works in New York City.