"I believe in the writer as a witness to evil, as a reporter of injustice, as a chronicler of human compassion, even on occasion of greatness, as one whose skills illuminate the Truth with a capital T, without irony. I believe it is the job of the writer to put into words what is worst – and also what is best – about us. To light up our possibilities, discover the finest lives to which we can aspire, and to inspire our readers to greatness of soul and heart." Philip Gerard said this, and he embodies this statement in his nonfiction and fiction, and as Chair of the Department of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and is co-editor of the literary journal Chautauqua. His latest book is a collection of essays, The Patron Saint of Dreams (Hub City Press, March 2012).