Dr. Cleatus Rattan
Cleatus Rattan, Frank W. Mayborn Chair of Arts and Sciences and Professor of English at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, is the author more than 300 poems published throughout the United States in anthologies, textbooks, magazines, and journals. In addition, Rattan’s essays and short stories have appeared in many magazines and one Feature appeared in The Sunday Section of The Houston Chronicle. The author of five collections of poetry, Rattan’s most recent book is Take Your Time Coming Home, Texas Review Press (2005). His forthcoming book What Isle of Bliss, Trilobite Press, is scheduled for publication in the spring of 2007. His book The Border, Texas Review Press 2002 was selected by the Texas University Interscholastic league for study by high school students across the state for state-wide academic competition in Literary Criticism in 2003. Rattan is the first living poet to be so honored. Previous poets studied by the UIL have been Frost, Wordsworth, Tennyson, ee cummings, and Edna St. Vincent Millay among others. National Public Radio interviewed Dr. Rattan and asked him to read four of his poems for the second inauguration of President Bush. Selected as the Poet Laureate of Texas for 2004-2005, Rattan was also selected as a Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M University –Commerce in 2004. Rattan holds degrees from Southern Methodist University, University of North Texas, Hardin-Simmons University, and Texas A&M University-Commerce.
