The poetry of Hope College English professor emeritus Jack Ridl will be read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer's Almanac Monday morning on National Public Radio.
The poetry of Hope College English professor emeritus Jack Ridl will be read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer's Almanac Monday morning on National Public Radio.
The program can be heard at 9:55 a.m. on WBLU (FM 88.9) and WBLV (90.3).
For more information on The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor
visit http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/
A member of the Hope faculty since 1971, Ridl retired from fulltime teaching in 2006. The college's Visiting Writer's Series, founded by Ridl in 1982, was named in his honor earlier this school year.
Ridl is the author of several collections of poetry, including most recently "Broken Symmetry," published in late March by Wayne State University Press. In 2001 his collection "Against Elegies" was chosen by U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins as the winner of the "Letterpress Chapbook Competition" sponsored by the Center for Book Arts of New York City. His other volumes include "The Same Ghost," "Between," "After School," "Poems from 'The Same Ghost' and 'Between'" and "Outside the Center Ring."
In addition to his volumes of poetry, Ridl is co-author, with Hope colleague Peter Schakel, of two textbooks, "Approaching Poetry: Perspectives and Responses" (1996) and "Approaching Literature in the 21st Century: Fiction, Poetry, and Drama" (2004). They also co-edited two anthologies.
In 1996, he was chosen Michigan's "Professor of the Year" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The college's graduating class presented him with the "Hope Outstanding Professor Educator" Award in 1976, and the student body elected him recipient of the "Favorite Faculty/Staff Member" Award in 2003. He was chosen by the graduating seniors to be the Commencement speaker in both 1975 and 1986. Westminster College, from which he holds both his bachelor's and master's degrees, presented him with an "Alumni Citation Award" in September 2005.
He has read his work and led workshops at colleges, universities, art colonies and other venues around the country.