Ratzlaff will read mostly new poems written during his travels to Italy, Virginia and Chicago during his sabbatical two years ago. He dedicates this reading to the memory of Robert Dana, his friend and mentor, former Poet Laureate of Iowa, who died in 2010.
Ratzlaff’s books of poetry include “Man Under a Pear Tree,” which won the 1996 Anhinga Prize for Poetry; “Across The Known World”; “Dubious Angels: Poems after Paul Klee,” based on the late drawings and paintings of Paul Klee; and “Then, a Thousand Crows.”
His poems and reviews have appeared in Poetry Northwest, Georgia Review, New England Review, Threepenny Review, Colorado Review and North American Review. Ratzlaff has also published poems and essays in these recent anthologies: “The Best American Poetry 2009,” “The Poets Guide to the Birds,” “Pushcart Prize XXXI,” “Poets of the New Century,” “A Cappella: Mennonite Voices in Poetry” and “In the Middle of the Middle West: Literary Nonfiction from the Heartland.”
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Natalie Hutchinson, library director, at 641-628-5220 or hutchinsonn@central.edu.