Oakland, CA - Mills College English professor Stephen Ratcliffe has published his latest book of poetry, Real (Avenue B, 2007), 474 pages written in 474 consecutive days.
 
Ratcliffe has taught at the College for 23 years. He has published his poetry in books and journals widely, and his literary press, Avenue B, has published the writing of innovative contemporary poets such as Maxine Chernoff, Jackson MacLow, Clark Coolidge, Jena Osman, Susan Gevirtz, Elizabeth Willis, and Ron Padgett.

Among Ratcliffe’s many books of poetry are Portraits and Repetition (Post-Apollo Press, 2002), SOUND/(system) (Green Integer, 2002), Idea’s Mirror (Potes and Poets Press, 1999), Sculpture (Littoral Books, 1996), and Present Tense (The Figures, 1995). Listening to Reading, a collection of essays on contemporary “experimental” poetry, was published by SUNY Press in 2000.

Ratcliffe has been the recipient of the Gertrude Stein Award for Innovative American Poetry, as well as awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and Fund for Poetry.

His teaching interests include creative writing, modern American poetry, New York School, contemporary poetry and poetics, Shakespeare, Renaissance poetry, and English romantic poetry. A resident of the Northern California coastal town of Bolinas, he is known for surfing and writing one poem every day of the year.

Ratcliffe earned his BA, MA, and PhD degrees at the University of California at Berkeley.

Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering innovative degree programs for undergraduate women, and graduate degree and certificate programs for women and men. Consistently recognized as one of the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Mills currently ranks among the top 20 most diverse liberal arts colleges. The New York Times recently selected Mills as one of three leading California colleges for students to consider.

In 2006, the Washington Monthly College Rankings named Mills a leading liberal arts college based on community service, research spending, quality of preparation for graduate education, and social mobility. In addition, The Princeton Review’s annual guide, the Best 361 Colleges (2007) included Mills for the second year in a row among top U.S. institutions offering students an outstanding undergraduate education.

Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California on 135 lush acres, Mills provides a dynamic liberal arts education fostering women’s leadership, social responsibility, and creativity. 

PRESS CONTACT:
Deborah Dallinger
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925.788.9131