Larry Woiwode was born in North Dakota in 1941. He went to the University of Illinois, but did not graduate. Woiwode pursued a brief career in acting before turning to writing. Feeling unfulfilled by writing, he eventually turned to religion. He is a member of the Committee on Christian Education, the Republican Party and the North Dakota Right to Life organization. He is a contributing editor to Archipelago and was named North Dakota Poet Laureate in 1995. Beyond the Bedroom Wall (1975) was nominated for the National Book Award and the Critics Circle Award.