Robert M. Shelby was an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

(November 3, 1935 Joplin, Missouri - March 15, 2016,

Benicia, California Benicia ( , ) is a waterside city in Solano County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the ...

). He served as the

poet laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...

from 2008 to 2010. Born in Joplin, Missouri, Shelby grew up in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. After serving in the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

, he attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and moved to Benicia in 2002. He published many poetry books including ''Leaves Away'', ''Quick Americana'', ''The Thousand Story Pagoda'', ''Woman in a White Cap'', ''Flying Apples, Falling Parasols'', ''Music From The Bones'', ''Quick Orientalia'', and ''Raining Down Dogs, Bouncing Up Cats, And A Few Birds''

References

Municipal Poets Laureate in the United States Poets from California People from Benicia, California 21st-century American male writers American male poets 1935 births 21st-century American poets 2016 deaths {{US-poet-1930s-stub

See also

References