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Ron Koertge | |
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| Born | April 22, 1940 Olney, Illinois, US |
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Ron Koertge (born April 22, 1940) is an American poet and author of young adult fiction. Koertge is currently the Poet Laureate of South Pasadena, California. His honors include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a California Arts Council grant, and inclusion in numerous anthologies. His young-adult fiction has won many awards, including Friends of American Writers Young People’s Literature Award, New York Library's 100 Best Children's Books, American Library Association (ALA) Best Book, New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age, and PEN awards. In 2017, he was awarded a Pushcart Prize.
Koertge grew up in Olney, Illinois. He received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1962 from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Arts (MA) in 1965 from the University of Arizona. He was a faculty member at Pasadena City College for more than 25 years, where he taught a popular poetry writing workshop. He also taught at Hamline University in the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Writing for Children & Young Adults program.
Along with his wife, Koertge lives in South Pasadena, California. His house was the home of Laurie Strode in the original Halloween movie.
Koertge is currently the Poet Laureate of South Pasadena, "an honorary position given to a South Pasadena resident poet to serve as the city's official ambassador for the literary arts."
The Arizona Kid was originally published in 1988, then republished by Candlewick Press on May 24, 2005. According to the American Library Association, it was the 75th most banned and challenged book in the United States between 1990 and 1999 due to LGBT content.
The Harmony Arms was originally published on October 1, 1992 by Joy Street Books, then republished in September 1994 by HarperCollins Publishers. The American Library Association named it a popular book for young adults.
Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright was published in 1994 by Orchard Books. The book received the following awards:
Confess-O-Rama was originally published in 1996 by Laurel Leaf, then republished in March 1998 by Random House Children's Books. The American Library Association named it a Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults in 2001.
The Brimstone Journals was originally published on February 1, 2001 by Candlewick Press, then republished in 2004. The book has received the following awards:
Margaux with an X was published on November 30, 2003 by Candlewick Press, then republished on August 8, 2006. The American Library Association named it one of the top ten Best Books for Young Adults in 2005.
Strays was published on May 8, 2007 by Candlewick Press, then republished on October 9, 2012. The American Library Association named it one of the top ten Best Books for Young Adults in 2008. The same year, it received the PEN Center USA Award in Children's/Young Adult Literature.
The original Stoner and Spaz book was first published on May 1, 2002 by Candlewick, then republished on April 26, 2011. The book received the following awards:
The second book in the series, Now Playing: Stoner and Spaz II, was published on August 1, 2011 by Candlewick Press. It was named a Booklist Editors' Choice book for youth in 2011.
The first book in the series, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup, was first published on March 1, 2003 by Candlewick Press, then republished in 2006. It was nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee in 2005.
The second book in the series, Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs, was first published on March 9, 2010 by Candlewick Press, then republished in 2012.
The Ogre's Wife: Poems was published on September 1, 2013 by Red Hen Press. The American Library Association named it to the 2014 list of Notable Poetry.
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