Firelands authors publish new collections

BGSU Firelands emeriti faculty Dr. Larry Smith, professor emeritus of English, and Dr. Ronald Ruble, associate professor emeritus of speech and theatre, have each recently published books.

Smith has co-edited with fellow Ohio poet Ray McNiece an anthology titled American Zen: A Gathering of Poets. Published by Bottom Dog Press, it comprises work by 30 Zen poets, including Smith and McNiece, in an exploration of the intersection of Buddhism and American poetry.

Larry Smith

The anthology received a positive review in the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer for its demonstration of the scope of Buddhism’s influence on poets from the Beat Generation of the ‘50s to today. In their introduction, Smith and McNiece identify “the practice of Buddhism, the writings of older American Zen poets and the translation of Zen Buddhist poetry into
English” as the three major influences of Buddhism on American poetry.

Smith has shifted his focus to Zen poetry in recent years. In 2003, he created an audio CD, “Songs of the Woodcutter: Zen Poems of Wang Wei and Taigu Ryokan,” read by Smith and accompanied by Monte Page on flute. The CD was released by Bottom Dog Press.

In addition to his own writing career, Smith has long promoted the work of Ohio authors and is managing editor of Heartlands, a magazine focusing on northwest Ohio and the Midwest. It is published by the Firelands Writing Center, of which he is director. A poet, fiction writer, biographer, essayist and reviewer, Smith became director of the writing center in 1978. Also the director of Bottom Dog Press, headquartered at the college, he edited The Plough: North Central Review and was managing editor of The Heartlands Today magazine.

Smith has championed the life stories of working people, particularly in the Ohio Valley. His numerous books include Steel Valley: Postcards and Letters;Milldust and Roses: Memoirs; Beyond Rust, and Awash with Roses: Collected Love Poems of Kenneth Patchen, which Smith edited with his daughter, Laura. In 1988 he received an Ohioana Award Citation for his support of poetry in Ohio. In 2001, essays by some of his students on working class literature, along with Smith’s syllabus, were included in What We Hold in Common: An Introduction to Working Class Studies, published by The Feminist Press at City University of New York.

Ron Ruble

Ruble, who is also the artistic director of Caryl Crane Children’s Theatre, has written The Pulse of Life: From A to Z, published by XLibris last month. A collection of stories, essays and poems focusing on words from “abide” to “zenith,” the book explores the usage, social impact, emotional reaction and moral implications of the decisions people make based on such words.

“Words can be the glue which bonds us together or instruments which tear us apart,” Ruble said. “Such words can and do alter the pulses of our lives. The book captures these moments, to focus on footsteps and heartbeats of living—to look at one thing but see another.”

Ruble, an award-winning poet, playwright and author, has worked with children's theatre, both directing and teaching, for over 35 years at the university, community and summer theatre levels. He was play director/ business manager for the Huron Playhouse from 1966-78 and a teaching artist for Firelands-Arts Unlimited. His plays “Tender Times” (1997) and “My Father's Father” (2000) have been CCCT audience favorites.