Matthew Sherry earned his PhD in Classics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his BA from Wake Forest University. His research interests lie primarily in Greek and Latin poetry, especially Alexandrian and Augustan. His dissertation examined Vergil’s depiction of poetry as a means of consolation throughout the Eclogues, Georgics, and Aeneid and presented this thematic throughline as a response to the political context of the 1st Century BCE. Growing from this dissertation, his current book project explores the interrelationship between Vergil's literary and political goals. He argues that, throughout Vergil's corpus, the poet's literary endeavors (generic engagement, adaptation of literary models, metapoetics, etc.) serve thematic purposes that correspond to and enhance his political commentary.