马克·哈里斯，Mark Harris taught English and creative writing at Arizona State University from 1980 to 2001; he also was the author of five non-fiction books, a collection of essays, and thirteen novels, including "Bang The Drum Slowly", part of a series of five novels about Henry Wiggen, pitcher for the fictitious New York Mammoths professional baseball team. Harris, who served in the U.S. Army during World War II, started his literary career as a wire service reporter as well as a staff writer for Ebony and Negro Digest magazines before graduating from college and embarking on a career in teaching.