RON IRWIN was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, and attended boarding school and college in New England, where he was a member of a number of winning rowing crews. He currently lectures in the Centre for Film and Media at the University of Cape Town, where he has taught since 1999. Irwin holds a master's in Literary Studies and a master's in Creative Writing, and has worked as a freelance documentary filmmaker and journalist. He is married and has three children.