Benjamin Myers (born 1975) is an American poet, essayist, educator, and musician. In 2015, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin appointed Myers the twentieth poet laureate of Oklahoma.[1] He has written three books of poetry, and his poems have appeared in many nationally prominent periodicals.[2]

Benjamin Myers
Born1975 (age 48–49)
OccupationPoet
essayist
educator
musician
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of the Ozarks;
Washington University in St. Louis

Biography

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Myers was raised in Chandler, Oklahoma, United States, by parents who were both writers themselves, his mother being well-known young-adult novelist Anna Myers and his father writing poetry.[3] Myers earned his bachelor's in English from The University of the Ozarks and his Ph.D. in literature from Washington University in St. Louis.[3] Myers teaches at Oklahoma Baptist University, where he is the Crouch-Mathis Professor of Literature.[2]

Myers has written essays on poetry and on liberal arts education for several Oklahoma-based magazines, such as Oklahoma Today and Oklahoma Humanities, as well as for national conservative magazines First Things and The Imaginative Conservative.[2]

In addition to his literary work, Myers is a musician, playing bass in the rock band Flying Armadillo.[4]

Bibliography

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  • Elegy for Trains. Oklahoma City: Village Books Press, 2010.
  • Lapse Americana. NY: New York Quarterly Books, 2013.
  • Black Sunday: The Dust Bowl Sonnets. Beaumont, TX: Lamar University Literary Press, 2019.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Shawnee's Ben Myers Named Oklahoma State Poet Laureate". Oklahoma Arts Council. February 5, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Benjamin Myers". Oklahoma Baptist University.
  3. ^ a b Holliday, Shawn (2015). The Oklahoma Poets Laureate: A Sourcebook, History, and Anthology. Norman, OK: Mongrel Empire Press. pp. 307–309. ISBN 9780990320432.
  4. ^ "Flying Armadillo". Spotify.