Author of 7 books and translated into 10 languages, he has read at Carnegie Hall and the United Nations and for 6 heads of state including Czech President Vaclav Klaus, So. Korean Prime Minister Young-Hoon Kang and for Mikhail Gorbachev at Moscow's International Poetry Festival (with Robert Bly and Bob Dylan). His poetry has been called "arresting and distinctive" (Richard Wilbur),"Fine-grained and witty," (C.K.Williams) and "dominating--with insight that marks major poets" (Miroslav Holub). His plays "The Landlord" and "Commedia" have been produced in Beijing, Moscow, Athens etc. He has worked as a screenwriter at Paramount Pictures for Producer Al Ruddy and in production on "The Border," "Exile," and Oscar winner,"The Deer Hunter." He served for 25 yrs as Director of USC's Professional Writing Program and for 16 yrs as Distinguished Professor at Charles U. in Prague. In 1996 Buzz Magazine named Ragan one of the "100 Coolest People in Los Angeles: Those Who Make a Difference."

Too Long a Solitude (University of Oklahoma Press, 2009), In the Talking Hours (University of Southern California Press, 2004), Lusions (Grove Press, 1996), The Hunger Wall (Grove Press, 1995), Womb Weary (Carol Publishing, 1990), Yevgeny Yevtushenko: Collected Poetry, 1952-1990 (co-editor/ trans.) (Henry Holt, 1990)

Antioch Review, North American Review, Ohio Review, Poetry, Sewanee Review, The Nation, World Literature Today