MARK ABLEY is a nonfiction writer, poet, and journalist. He is a Rhodes Scholar and in 2004 was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. His many books include The Organist: Fugues, Fatherhood, and a Fragile Mind, a memoir of his father; Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages and The Prodigal Tongue: Dispatches from the Future of English, among other books on language; Conversations with a Dead Man: The Legacy of Duncan Campbell Scott, an unconventional look at Canada’s colonial history; and several poetry collections and children’s books. His work has won international praise and has been translated into five languages. He lives in Montreal.