R. M. Ryan (born 1945) is the author of ''Vaudeville in the Dark'' (2010), which was lauded by the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

as having been "written at the juncture of rapture and rupture". He is also the author of two other volumes of poetry from

Louisiana State University Press The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of University Pres ...

and two novels, including a collection of poems and a personal meditation on surviving cancer called ''The Lost Roads Adventure Club'' (2017). In 2015, Ryan published an autobiographical novel called ''There's a Man with a Gun Over There'' based on his experiences in the US Army as a detective and translator investigating black marketing in Germany during the Vietnam era. In this novel, Ryan, trained as poet and drafted into the military, is a kind of innocent abroad as he learns the very high price of essentially becoming a fascist for the American Empire and the remnants of Nazi Germany. Nominated by its publisher for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, ''There's a Man with a Gun Over There'' is about what could happen to anyone in the US Army, and a cautionary tale about America's war machine. Publisher Martin Shepard describes the author as "the Norman Mailer of this generation". Poet, screenwriter, playwright, and

MacArthur Fellow The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and 30 individuals workin ...

Naomi Wallace Naomi Wallace (born 1960) is an American playwright, screenwriter and poet from Kentucky. She is widely known for her plays, and has received several distinguished awards for her work. Biography Naomi Wallace was born in Prospect, Kentucky, ...

comments that in reading the novel she is astonished by "the battle of consciousness Ryan has with himself concerning right, wrong, war, lies: all are in continuous flux and deeply alive". Carol Polsgrove, author of ''Divided Minds: Intellectuals and the Civil Rights Movement'' and professor emerita at the Indiana University School of Journalism, comments: "R. M. Ryan's poems are not for the faint of heart. They saunter, they soar, they dive down to despair. ''Vaudeville in the Dark'' brings together poems written over the last thirty yearssince his publisher, Louisiana State University Press, brought out his first volume in 1980. That was right after he abandoned graduate school for stockbroking, which he has now abandoned for a writer's life." In an introduction of Ryan for a reading at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

, professor and novelist C. J. Hribal said, "RickR. M.Ryan has quietly been writing some of the best poems of the new century: elegiac comedies, hymns to memory and to the small, incidental moments of our pasts that connect us to who we are now... these poems are generous in their humor and their sadness, they are wise and wounded, they are intensely human and humane." For six years, Ryan was the lyricist for the northern California rock-and-roll band the Thugz and wrote many of the songs on their two CDs released by Puffin records: ''Goin' To Town'' (2009) and ''Peace of Mind'' (2011). Ryan also founded Firestarter Press, which has published eccentric artifacts by writers including Abby Frucht,

Mark Strand Mark Strand (April 11, 1934 – November 29, 2014) was a Canadian-born American poet, essayist and translator. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1990 and received the Wallace Stevens Award in 2004 ...

Tobias Wolff Tobias Jonathan Ansell Wolff (born June 19, 1945) is an American short story writer, memoirist, novelist, and teacher of creative writing. He is known for his memoirs, particularly '' This Boy's Life'' (1989) and '' In Pharaoh's Army'' (1994). H ...

Fred Chappell Fred Davis Chappell (May 28, 1936 – January 4, 2024) was an author and poet. He was an English professor for 40 years (1964–2004) at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He was the Poet Laureate of North Carolina from 1997 to 20 ...

, and

John Koethe John Koethe (born December 25, 1945) is an Americans, American poet, essayist and professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Biography Koethe is originally from San Diego, California. He was educated at Princeton Univ ...

. Ryan received his undergraduate degree in English at

Cornell College Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary (Methodist), the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell Co ...

, where he studied with

Robert Dana Robert Dana (June 2, 1929 – February 6, 2010) was an American poet, who taught writing and English literature at Cornell College and many other schools, revived ''The North American Review'' and served as its editor during the years 1964–1968 ...

, and his master's in poetry from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

; he continued graduate studies (ABD) at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

with

Howard Nemerov Howard Nemerov (February 29, 1920 – July 5, 1991) was an American poet. Nemerov was the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor of English and Distinguished Poet in Residence at Washington University in St. Louis. He was twice ...

and John N. Morris, and later had a career as a writer and financial advisor for a brokerage company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is married to the biographer

Carol Sklenicka Carol Sklenicka (December 11, 1948) is an American biographer and literary scholar known for her authoritative, full-scale biographies of two important figures in late twentieth-century American literature: acclaimed short story masters Raymond Ca ...

, author of ''Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life''. He lives near the Sonoma Coast in California.

References

Sources

Poetry by Atsuro Riley, Nathalie Handal and Others
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A Former Army MP Discusses the Draft, Avoiding Combat and Wartime Scars

Bibliography

''Goldilocks in Later Life.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1980. ''The Golden Rules.'' New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2002. ''Vaudeville in the Dark.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2010. ''There's a Man with a Gun Over There.'' Sag Harbor: Permanent Press, 2015. ''The Lost Roads Adventure Club.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, R. M. 1945 births Living people Musicians from California Musicians from Wisconsin Writers from California Writers from Wisconsin Cornell College alumni University of Arkansas alumni Washington University in St. Louis alumni