Kate Lassman, whose maiden name is Moose, aspired to study insects but was lured away by poetry. Now, those two interests intersect in poems such as "The Mantis." Since she left the Rockies for the high south Atlantic - Virginia and Maryland - and took her husband's name, she left moose behind; the fox is the wildest creature in her poems, and the cat the most common. Kate studied at George Mason University under Prof. Erik Pankey, earning a Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry. She is much published in journals print and online and is a contributor to Pax: An Anthology of Southern Maryland Poetry. Dawn Anyway is her first solo book. Kate also teaches writing at the College of Southern Maryland.