Bill W.M. Ransom

Poet, Fiction Writer

Grayland, WA
Washington US
Email: 
billransom@hotmail.com

Author's Bio

BA University of Washington, Sociology and English Education; MA Utah State University, Theory and Practice of Writing and Folklore. Seven novels, three co-authored with Frank Herbert, all available in all formats from WordFire Press; four poetry collections, two hybrid collections--Learning the Ropes and The Woman and the War Baby--linked poetry, fiction, nonfiction. Pioneered Poets in the Schools in WA, ID, UT, WY, NV. Co-founded Centrum, an arts foundation in Washington State; invented and directed the popular Port Townsend Writer's Conference and Centrum's interdisciplinary youth programs. Recently retired as Dean of Curriculum at The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA.

Publications & Prizes

Fiction

Books:
Burn (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1996)
,
Jaguar (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1995)
,
ViraVax (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1995)
,
The Ascension Factor (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1988)
,
The Lazarus Effect (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1982)
,
The Jesus Incident (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1979)
Journals:
Carve Magazine
,
Kansas City Star
,
Manoa
,
Seattle Review
,
Tendril
,
The Oregonian

Poetry

Anthologies:
Weathered Pages (Blue Begonia Press, 2005)
,
In Praise of Pedagogy (Calendar Press, 2000)
,
Thirteen Ways of Looking for a Poem (Longman Press, 1999)
,
The Gift of Tongues (Copper Canyon Press, 1996)
Books:
The Woman and the War Baby (Blue Begonia Press, 2010)
,
Slight of Hand (Far Cry Press, 2008)
,
Learning the Ropes (Utah State University Press, 1995)
,
Finding True North (Copper Canyon Press, 1974)
Journal:
Puerto del Sol
Prizes won: 

NEA Discovery Award, Poetry NEA Fiction Award NDEA Fellowship in American Minority Literature, PEN/NEA Syndicated Fiction Project (3 stories), Firefighter of the Year (threw it in for fun)1984/'85.

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Raymond Carver, Keith Abbott, Michael O'Connor, Margaret Atwood, Ursula LeGuin, Joy Harjo
What I'm reading now: 
The Only Time We Have by Samuel Green, The Violent Foam by Daisy Zamora, The First Thing Coming by Keith Abbott, W. S. Merwin by (Asian Figures), Other Heartbreaks by Patricia Henley

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
American
Prefers to work with: 
Adults
Fluent in: 
Spanish
Born in: 
Puyallup, WA
Washington
Raised in: 
Puyallup, WA
Washington
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Nov 07, 2019