Roderick Owen MacDonald, author of "Election Night" and--as Rod MacDonald--"The Open Mike" and "The American Guerillas," was born in CT, graduated from the University of Virginia and Columbia Law School, and, after a brief career as a reporter for The Hartford Courant and Newsweek, became a full-time singer-songwriter and folksinger. During 20 years based in NYC's Greenwich Village, he recorded his first albums and 21 songs now in the Smithsonian Folkways collection, and co-founded the Greenwich Village Folk Festival. His songs are often recorded by other singers, including A Sailor's Prayer--a staple of Rennaissance and Maritime music events-- American Jerusalem, White Buffalo, For The People and Every Living Thing. He currently lives in south Florida, where he's been named one of "The Ten Greatest South Florida Folksingers Of All Time." An independent concert artist, he appears in national and international music festivals, and is also Music Americana lecturer in the Osher-Florida Atlantic University Lifelong Learning program, where he was named Distinguished Faculty Member in 2012.