Alan Birkelbach is a native Texan, born and raised in Georgetown. In 1978, he graduated from North Texas State University of Denton with a B.A. in English; his poetry first publicly appeared there in The Green Fuse, the annual campus literary magazine.
Alan became a member of the Poetry Society of Texas in 1978, which he served as Director and Membership chair for several years, and has been, at various times, a member of the Society’s San Jacinto and Houston Chapters, and the Austin Poetry Society [of which he is a current member]. He is also a member of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies, Writer’s Garret of Dallas, The Academy of American Poets, and A Galaxy of Verse Literary Foundation, which he serves as 3rd Vice President.
A frequent prize winner, judge, and speaker, Alan has presented his poetry and workshops at Poetry in the Arts of Austin, Sherman Arts Festival, Texas Poetry Project of McKinney, East Texas Writer’s Conference of Longview, Poetry Society of Texas Summer Conferences, Barnes & Noble Book Stores, Club Dada [Dallas], San Gabriel Writer’s League in Georgetown, Borders, Local/Civic Groups, including most of PST’s twenty-three Chapters., and Mary Hardin Baylor Literary Festival, in addition to promoting poetry in schools by offering workshops to students and judging contests at all levels. He is a continuous contest sponsor in PST’s Annual Awards and the Poetry in Schools program.
Alan’s poetry can be found in publications of Borderlands, Grasslands Review, Lucidity, Potpourri, New Texas, Haiku Headlines, Shadow of The Green Fuse, Venue, Suddenly, Illlya’s Honey, Prize Poems of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies, and numerous additions of the Poetry Society of Texas Book of the Year. His work is also included in anthologies: Texas In Poetry II, Behold Texas, From Hide and Horn, and several anthologies published by PST Chapters. Some publications have published him several times. He is the only member of the Poetry Society of Texas to win the Stevens Poetry Manuscript offered by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. His grand prize winner, Weighed in the Balances, was published in 1998. He was also the grand prize winner of the Pat Stodghill Book Publication Award, sponsored by the Poetry Society of Texas in 2002, with No Boundaries, which was published by Eakin Press of Austin. Some of his best work he self-published in a poetry collection titled Bone Song, in 1996.
Honors and Awards are many, for Alan. In 1996, he was the Grand Prize Winner in the Dallas Poets Community Annual Poetry Contest. In 1999, he placed in the top 100 in the non-rhyming poem category in the Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition, and was a member of a poetry reading panel in the 2000 New Texas Literary Festival. He was the winner of $1000 Poetry Fellowship Grant in 2001 from Writer’s League of Texas, and was selected as one of the top 20 Distinguished Poets of Dallas for the Dallas Library Centennial Celebration that year. He is a 2005 nominee for the Hilton Ross Greer Outstanding Service Award; the highest award offered by the Poetry Society of Texas.
According to Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, Chair of the House of Representative’s Committee on Culture, Recreation and Tourism, these appointments "bring art and culture to Texans everyday." Nominees must be native Texans or five-year residents of the state. They must have received recognition for high-levels of excellence and success in their respective disciplines. They also must have received critical reviews in state, regional, or national publications. In addition, poet laureate nominees must have a substantial body of work, including at least one publication that is not self-published.
Any Texas citizen may submit up to three nominations per artist category. TCA reviews all nominations and develops a list of finalists for submission tot he Texas Poet Laureate, State Musician, and State Artist Committee. The committee, composed of members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, make the final selections. "This diverse group of artists is among Texas’ best and brightest," said Texas Commission on the Arts Executive Director Rick Hernandez. "The title of state artist, poet, and musician honors these Texan’s dedication to their passion."
Alan Birkelbach is a poet’s poet whose words sing when he reads and leap from the page in a language everyone can understand. His Muse is always active, and his poems have wide-ranging topics. Some are even truth-like fabrications. It’s often hard to tell — he’s not above taking poetic license with a tongue-in-cheek humor and wit.
Alan and Laura Birkelbach make their home in Plano with cat friend, Niki. They have three grown married children, and three grandchildren. Laura is a Texas original with Native American roots. She graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with a double major in Math and English. A former poet herself, she is an excellent judge, critic, and Alan’s biggest fan. The Birkelbach’s are tireless volunteers for the Art of Poetry in Texas, and never hesitate to promote poets and poetry.
There is no fee and the public is welcome to join us for the reading of this awesome poet. The Sherman Public Library is located at 421 N. Travis.