ABOUT THE POETS
Budd Powell Mahan served as the 16th and 19th President of the Poetry Society of Texas, and as 26th President of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies, Inc. He won the 2005 Eakin Manuscript Competition in November 2005 with his book, Falling to Earth, and the Stevens Manuscript Competition in 2006 with Harvest. After a fulfilling career as a public school teacher, he retired in 2002. His poetry has received many prizes including, among others, the William Stafford Award, 2005; Hugh C. Bailey Award, 2005; American GI Award, 2004; Acadian Award, 2003; Davidson Memorial Award, 2001; Ben Lomond Poets Award, 2001; and the David Wagoner Award, 2001.
Budd Powell Mahan
7059 Spring Valley Road
Dallas, TX 75254
972-
Alan Lee Birkelbach, native of Texas, was selected as 2005 Texas Poet Laureate. An ambassador for poetry, he has spoken to conferences, colleges, and poetry groups across Texas. His volumes of poetry include No Boundaries, (Pat Stodghill Book Award), and Weighed in the Balances, (Stevens Poetry Competition Winner). His work has been included in eight anthologies, including Texas in Poetry 2 (TCU Press, 2002). Birkelbach has served on the board of directors for the Poetry Society of Texas for over ten years. He lives and works as an engineer in Plano. Billy Bob Hill writes in his introduction to Alan Birkelbach: New and Selected Poems, "Birkelbach can disguise a mosaic of word music in plain sight hidden in conversational English."
Alan Lee Birkelbach
Plano, TX