John J. Ronan

Poet

Gloucester, MA
Massachusetts US

Author's Bio

A new book, Taking the Train of Singularity South from Midtown, was published by Backwaters Press/University of Nebraska on January 15, 2017. The title poem is a homage to New York, pluralism, and our glorious, flawed republic. A previous volume, Marrowbone Lane, was a "Highly Recommended" choice by the Boston Authors Club in 2010. Other books include The Catching Self and The Curable Corpse (Folly Cove 1996 and 1999), and John J. Ronan: Greatest Hits 1975-2000 (Pudding House 2001). Work appeared in the anthology of prize-winning poetry, Sad Little Breathings, edited by Heather McHugh (PublishingOnline 2001), and in Baseball: I Gave You the Best Years of My Life (North Atlantic Press 1977). Journals include: Folio, Threepenny Review, The Recorder, Hollins Critic, New England Review, Southern Poetry Review, Louisville Review, Greensboro Review, Notre Dame Review, NYQ. I write poetry daily, about three hours, and spend other time as a journalist and playwright. A one-act, The Early Bird Special, was a finalist in the 2016 Tennessee Williams competition and was invited to the Strawberry One-Act Festival in New York in July of 2016. It was a winning play at the Firehouse Theater competition in 2017. My non-profit company, American Storyboard, has produced award-winning features; Gloucester's Adventure and Women in American Horse Racing ran on PBS outlets in 2002 and 2008. Details are available on IMDB. Journalism credits include The Washington Post, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Dallas Morning News, Midwest Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, Yankee and Saturday Review.

Publications & Prizes

Anthology:
Sad Little Breathings (PublishingOnline, 2001)
Books:
Taking the Train of Singularity South from Midtown (Backwaters Press, 2017)
,
Marrowbone Lane (Backwaters Press, 2009)
,
The Curable Corpse (Folly Cove Books, 1999)
,
The Catching Self (Folly Cove Books, 1996)
Prizes won: 

National Endowment for the Arts Fellow ('99-'00), Poet Laureate, Gloucester, MA ('08-'10), Bread Loaf Scholar, Ucross Fellow, Paumanok Poetry Award.

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Hilary Mantel, Derek Mahon, Geffrey Davis, T. S. Eliot, George Eliot.
What I'm reading now: 
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, History of the Rain by Niall Williams, Mortality by Christopher Hutchins, The Hard Hours by Anthony Hecht

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
Irish American
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Fluent in: 
French
Born in: 
San Diego, CA
California
Raised in: 
Chicago, IL
Illinois
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Jul 02, 2021