David Ruekberg

David Ruekberg's second collection, Hour of the Green Light, begins in the womb at the moment when the soul chooses to leave paradise, and explores the aftermath of that choice. The quest for “an end to suffering” pervades the collection. Despite our perception of darkness in this life, these poems urge us to discover “the only light we can know.”

Poet Annie Kim calls Hour of the Green Light "tender, wry, and bracingly honest." Alicia Hoffman notes "this is a poet skilled in the syntax of sentience, enamored with both the mysterious idiosyncrasies of waking life and the phantom itch that can’t be scratched."

Ruekberg's poems have also appeared in Barrow Street, Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, DMQ, Mudfish, Lake Effect, North American Review, Poet Lore, and elsewhere. Hour of the Green Light is published by FutureCycle Press.

His first collection, Where Is the River Called Pishon? was published by Kelsay Books in 2018. Pablo Medina notes, "Ruekberg’s poems engage the domestic and natural spheres to encounter the elemental forces that drive us: love, grief, despair and hope...[This] is an irresistible book that asks to be read and read again."

David lives with his wife near Rochester, NY and is recently retired after 32 years of teaching English. In addition to reading and writing, he enjoys videography, gardening, hiking, cooking, and film.

He received his MFA from Warren Wilson College, and has enjoyed a residency at Jentel Arts in Sheridan, Wyoming. He teaches poetry workshops at Writers & Books in Rochester, NY, and elsewhere, to adults and young people. He also offers manuscript reviews and private writing coaching.

For more information, please visit https://poetry.ruekberg.com.