Dr. Ruth L. Schwartz named as 2016 Glasrud Distinguished Lecturer
Dr. Ruth L. Schwartz, 2016 Glasrud Distinguished Lecturer, will host a lecture and reading on Tuesday, March 1. The lecture will take place at 4 p.m. in the library porch and the reading will take place at 8 p.m. at Red Raven Espresso Parlor in Fargo.
Schwartz’ five books of poems include the National Poetry Series winner Edgewater (HarperCollins 2002), selected by Jane Hirshfield. Her other poetry books are Miraculum (Autumn House Press, 2012), Dear Good Naked Morning (Autumn House Press, 2005, selected by Alicia Ostriker as winner of the Autumn House Press Poetry Prize), Singular Bodies (Anhinga Press 2001, selected by Allison Joseph as winner of the Anhinga Prize for Poetry), and Accordion Breathing & Dancing (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996, selected by William Matthews as winner of the Associated Writing Programs competition.)
Ruth has been honored by fellowships from the NEA, the Ohio Arts Council and the Astraea Foundation. Her poetry has won numerous literary awards and contests, including the Nimrod/Pablo Neruda prize, the Chelsea Magazine editors’ award, the New Letters Literary Award, the San Francisco Bay Guardian Poetry Contest, the Randall Jarrell award, the Americas Review prize, and a Reader’s Choice award from Prairie Schooner.
Ruth is also the author of two nonfiction books: a memoir, Death in Reverse: A Love Story (Michigan State University Press, 2004) and a spiritual guidebook, Soul on Earth: A Guide to Living & Loving Your Human Life (Six Directions Press, 2012). Her essays are frequently published in The Sun.
Ruth teaches in the low-residency M.F.A. Program at Ashland University. She has also worked as an AIDS and cancer educator and done international health education consulting work in the Caribbean and Africa. A lifelong explorer of consciousness, creativity and healing, she holds a Ph.D. in Transpersonal Psychology, is a Board-certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, and has extensive training in shamanism, energy medicine, and other healing modalities. She has had a private healing practice since 2003, and leads workshops, mentors and teaches worldwide. She has traveled extensively in Latin America, and is fluent in Spanish.
Ruth was born in upstate New York, spent her childhood moving around the country, and left home at sixteen. She received her B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1983, and her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan in 1985. She currently lives on a rural ranch in Northern California with her spouse, Michelle Murrain, with whom she also teaches conscious dating and relationship skills, and the world’s cutest orange cat.
