Paul D. Ruffin - Texas Poet Laureate - 2009

Paul D. Ruffin is the current Texas Poet Laureate.  He is the Texas State University System Regents' Professor and Distinguished Professor of English at Sam Houston State University.  At SHSU, Ruffin founded and still serves as editor-in-chief of the Texas Review, an international literary journal, and he founded and serves as editor of the literary book press, the Texas Review Press.  Ruffin's written about a thousand works, most of which are poetry, but also includes some novels, short stories, and essays.  See http://www.shsu.edu/~eng_pdr/travelpublicity.pdf for a sampler.  And he collected some awards along the way.  Texas is advantaged by his presence.  His critical attention paid to William Goyen, a fine Texas author now gone, is keenly appreciated.   Originally from Alabama, he has written an autobiographical work, "Growing Up in Mississippi Poor and White But Not Quite Trash," which will be interesting reading when it's published.  For more about Ruffin go to http://www.pauldruffin.com/page2.html Mississippi keeps track of him http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/ruffin_paul/index.html For a list of our poets laureate go to http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/poets.html