2005 Texas Poet Laureate
Alan Birkelbach is a native of Texas—and has never lived anywhere else.
He’s lived in Central Texas, along the coast, and currently in Plano. In his speaking engagements and personal travels he has been to practically every corner of the state.
He graduated from North Texas State University in 1978 with a B.A. in English.
He has sold insurance, worked for the I.R.S, EDS, and, for the past twenty-two years, for Freddie Mac. He wrote his first poem when he was twelve, and, through all the job changes and moves, kept writing.
He’s lived in Central Texas, along the coast, and currently in Plano. In his speaking engagements and personal travels he has been to practically every corner of the state.
He graduated from North Texas State University in 1978 with a B.A. in English.
He has sold insurance, worked for the I.R.S, EDS, and, for the past twenty-two years, for Freddie Mac. He wrote his first poem when he was twelve, and, through all the job changes and moves, kept writing.
In 2005 Alan was named the 2005 Texas State Poet Laureate by the Texas Legislature. Alan was the 42nd Poet Laureate in the 160-year history of the state.
Alan currently has 5 books of poetry: Bone Son, Weighed in the Balances, and No Boundaries, New and Selected Works, and Translating the Prairie: Plano, Texas in Words and Pictures. A sixth book, from TCU Press, is due out in the fall of 2010.
Alan currently has 5 books of poetry: Bone Son, Weighed in the Balances, and No Boundaries, New and Selected Works, and Translating the Prairie: Plano, Texas in Words and Pictures. A sixth book, from TCU Press, is due out in the fall of 2010.
Alan says,
“I’ve been writing for over 35 years, more seriously in the last 20. If you can call it seriously. I’ve always written at my own pace on topics of my own choosing. Balancing poetry and a career can be a challenge—but the rewards are wonderful.
Thematically, I tend to write about the search for direction. Much of my poetry, Texas-based or otherwise, tends to be about those people who desperately need a compass and don’t know even how to ask for it. They are looking for a pathway that will give them balance. They are waiting for a voice to tell them which way to go.
I never worry about getting an idea. I write with the energy and enthusiasm of a teenager. It is always there. And I think it’s always there because even if the National Enquirer doesn’t present me with a delicious tidbit then all I have to do is step outside. Texas is there. It’s always there.
I started working straight out of college but never in an academic environment. I’ve always held other, non-writing, jobs. My work tends to be very simple and direct (if occasionally a little eccentric.)
Life is full of treasure. Everyone just needs to be reminded.”
