Milton James earned his B.A. in English from U.C.L.A. and his MLIS from San Jose State. He has worked as a sailor, a bartender, a book buyer and a librarian. His poetry has appeared in Westwind, Onthebus and Caffeine. He has finished the poetry collections Escape Songs for Ritual Lovers, Principal Flame and Cuts of Orpheus. He is currently working two other collections: Before Los Angeles Fell Into the Sea and Volta. He lives in Long Beach, California with his girlfriend Ann, the dog Zelda and the cat Ziggy.