About this item
Highlights
- The Texas Legislature recently named Paul Ruffin 2009 Poet Laureate of Texas.
- About the Author: PAUL RUFFIN, 2009 Poet Laureate of Texas, is Texas State University Regents' Professor and Distinguished Professor of English at Sam Houston State University, where he edits The Texas Review and directs Texas Review Press.
- 96 Pages
- Poetry, American
- Series Name: Tcu Texas Poets Laureate
Description
Book Synopsis
The Texas Legislature recently named Paul Ruffin 2009 Poet Laureate of Texas. To those who read literary journals or mid-list popular books, Paul Ruffin is a well-known author and poet. Ruffin is prolific in his writing, having published over a thousand poems, short stories, novels, and nonfiction pieces with decades of unfailing artistry. In the fifth installment of the TCU Texas Poet Laureate Series, editor Billy Bob Hill writes in his introduction that he has long admired Paul Ruffin's use of poetic devices. Ruffin uses alliteration and subtle textured sounds throughout his poetry, making them likeably conversational while full of crafted sound patterns. Ruffin also employs whimsical narratives, coining the word "Necrofiligumbo" in "When the Mummy Became a Mommy." But, Hill explains, the true power of this book comes from its storytelling. With the new material, readers will encounter compelling, often drop-dead funny storytelling. The state of Texas has honored Texas Poets Laureate for seventy-five years, but much of their work has gone unpublished and unrecognized. In a significant step toward recognizing their achievements, TCU Press publishes a series of the work of the Poets Laureate, with a volume dedicated to each poet. The series began with the 2005 and 2006 laureates and continues through each bi-annual appointment. These beautiful volumes collect the finest work of each individual poet. While a single volume may stand alone as a valuable selection of a poet's work, the series as a whole will draw their different voices together into a singular poetic expression of Texas. The next book in the series will focus on the work of 2010 laureate, Karla K. Morton.Review Quotes
"Ruffin is not the type of poet to fall for the trendy gimmickry that inevitably dates one's work, nor does he maliciously deceive readers by engaging in complex linguistic folly. Instead, he offers fundamentally rich, quality poetry and an argument for tradition in a period of literary and global instability. As evidenced by this collection, Ruffin's poetry champions a timeless respect for the art of verse...Paul Ruffin offers a poetic overview of one of America's best contemporary writers...one witnesses a poet who successfully merges a profound respect for lyrical and imagistic traditions with figurative and thematic innovation. It is well-crafted verse that adeptly reacts to the topically universal...it serves as an interesting display of how the poet has simultaneously changed and stayed the same over the years, fighting, word by word, to uphold essential poetic traditions."
-- "American Book Review" (5/1/2011 12:00:00 AM)Adam S. in the Arts and Entertainment section of the Austinist.com said, "Ruffin has a straightforward but lyrical approach, and some of the joy of his poetry is found in the combination of a commonsense, wide-eyed approach to the natural world coupled with a playful imagination."
--Adam S. "Austinist.com"About the Author
PAUL RUFFIN, 2009 Poet Laureate of Texas, is Texas State University Regents' Professor and Distinguished Professor of English at Sam Houston State University, where he edits The Texas Review and directs Texas Review Press. His books include two novels, three collections of short stories, two books of essays, and six collections of poetry.
