Todd (Ryan) Boss (born December 6, 1968) is an American poet,

installation artist Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

, and film producer, and inventor based in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, Minnesota. He has published several collections of poetry and contributed to literary journals. He has also produced a large body of poetry intended for musical setting, most frequently in collaboration with the composer

Jake Runestad Jake Runestad (born 20 May 1986) is an American composer and conductor of classical music based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has composed music for a wide variety of musical genres and ensembles, but has achieved greatest acclaim for his work ...

Biography

Boss was born in

Marshfield, Wisconsin Marshfield is a city in northwest Wood and southwest Marathon counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 10, Highway 13 and Highway 97. The largest city in Wood County, its population was 18,929 at t ...

, but raised until age six on a dairy farm in

Colby, Wisconsin Colby is a city in Clark and Marathon counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is part of the Wausau, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,852 at the 2010 census. Of this, 1,354 were in Clark County, and 498 were in Ma ...

, when his parents moved to a cattle farm in

Fall Creek, Wisconsin Fall Creek is a village in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,315 at the 2010 census. The village is bordered by the Town of Lincoln. History Fall Creek was founded in 1870. The village was named after the rapids ...

. He attended

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...

from 1987 to 1991, earning a BA in English and speech-theater. He then pursued graduate studies at the

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna College, and Prin ...

between 1992 and 1994, earning an MFA in creative writing. In Minneapolis, he teaches at the

Loft Literary Center The Loft Literary Center is a non-profit literary organization located in Minneapolis, Minnesota incorporated in 1975. The Loft is a large and comprehensive independent literary center, and offers a variety of writing classes, conferences, grants ...

and has been an artist-in-residence at the

Weisman Art Museum The Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum is an art museum at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1934 as University Gallery, the museum was originally housed in an upper floor of the university's Northrop Auditorium. In 19 ...

of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. He is the father of two children.

Activities and awards

Collections of poetry authored by Todd Boss include ''Yellowrocket'' (2008), ''Pitch'' (2012) and ''Tough Luck''. His poems have also appeared in ''

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

'', the ''

American Poetry Review ''The American Poetry Review'' (''APR'') is an American poetry magazine printed every other month on tabloid-sized newsprint. It was founded in 1972 by Stephen Berg and Stephen Parker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The magazine's editor is Elizab ...

'', ''

The London Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

'', ''

Best American Poetry ''The Best American Poetry'' series consists of annual poetry anthologies, each containing seventy-five poems. Background The series, begun by poet and editor David Lehman in 1988, has a different guest editor every year. Lehman, still the general ...

'', and the ''

Virginia Quarterly Review The ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman. This ''"National Journal of Literature and Discussion"'' ...

'', which awarded Todd its Emily Clark Balch Prize in 2009 for his collection ''Yellowrocket''. ''Pitch'' won the Midwest Booksellers’ Choice Award in 2012. As an installation artist, Boss created a 2012 memorial to a 2007 bridge collapse in Minneapolis in collaboration with the Swedish artist Maja Spasova. The installation was paired with a cycle of 35 poems: “Fragments for the 35W Bridge”. He also arranged for a monumental poetry film projection onto the façade of the historic Union Depot in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

in 2014. In 2017, he created "Chaos on the Green Line," a virtual-reality thrill ride activated by the GPS movements of a St. Paul light rail train, in partnership with Pixel Farm Creative. Boss's public art projects also include a reinterpreted United States flag and a collaboration with

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, a ...

artist Marlena Myles, "Dakota Spirit Walk," launched in November 2021. As an author of poetry for musical setting, Boss has collaborated with Jake Runestad on eight choral works: "Climb," "Ave Verum," "One Flock," "As Long As We Are Here," "Cello Songs," "Waves," "A Silence Haunts Me," and "And So I Go On." He also wrote the poetry for the song cycle ''Panic'' by

Andy Vores Andy Vores (born 1956) is a Welsh classical music and opera composer. He has lived in the United States since 1986 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts. Education Vores studied composition at Lancaster University in Lancaster, England. He in ...

, which was first performed at the

Boston Conservatory Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founded ...

in 2014, and two song texts for mezzo-soprano

Sasha Cooke Sasha Cooke is an American mezzo-soprano. Cooke was born in Riverside, California, and grew up in College Station, Texas, where her parents are professors of Russian at Texas A&M University. She earned a bachelor's degree from Rice University and ...

: "Risk Not None" (with music by Matt Boehler) and "(A Bad Case of) Kids" (with music by Andrew Marshall). Boss was the founding executive and artistic director of Motionpoems, a poetry film company that operated between 2008 and 2020. Motionpoems produced over 150 short adaptions of poetry that have premiered at the Walker Art Center, the

Hammer Museum The Hammer Museum, which is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles, is an art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. Founded in 1990 by the entrepreneur- ...

, and other venues.

Selected publications

Poetry collections

*''Yellowrocket'' (New York: W.W. Norton, 2008), *''Pitch'' (New York: W.W. Norton, 2012), *''Tough Luck'' (New York: W.W. Norton, 2017), *''Someday the Plan of a Town'' (New York: W.W. Norton, 2022),

Chapbooks

*''On Marriage'' (with Katrina Vandenberg; Red Dragonfly Press, 2008)

Inventions/Patents

Boss is the inventor and patent holder of the Laptop Strap personal laptop carrying system of products, launched in 2021, and partners with his cousin John Hermanson for the patent-pending Limber Bows, a sporting-goods product also launched in 2021.

Contributions of text for compositions by Jake Runestad

Boss's collaborations with

are detailed on the composer's website.
Jake Runestad website. Choir and Orchestra *"Climb" (2017, SATB choir and orchestra), text by Todd Boss *"Ave Verum" (2017, SATB choir and string orchestra), first performed 23 April 2017 at the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

, Washington, DC, with the

Choral Arts Society of Washington The Choral Arts Society of Washington is a major choral organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1965 by Norman Scribner, it is regarded as one of the premier symphonic choruses in the United States. The Choral Arts Society of Washing ...

, Scott Tucker, conductor Choir and Instrumental Ensemble *"One Flock" (2016, SATB, soloists, piano, and percussion), commissioned by Schola Cantorum on Hudson, Deborah Simpkin King, conductor, text by Todd Boss *“As Long As We Are Here” (2020, SATB choir, string orchestra, and piano), commissioned by Brett Karlin and the Master Chorale of South Florida *"Cello Songs" (2020, SATB choir, cello, and piano), commissioned by the St. Charles Singers Choir and Piano *"Waves" (2015, SSAATTBB choir and piano), commissioned by Robert Istad and

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

*"A Silence Haunts Me" (2018, SATB choir and piano), commissioned by the

American Choral Directors Association The American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization with the stated purpose of promoting excellence in the field of choral music. Its membership comprises approximately 22,000 c ...

and the Raymond C. Brock Foundation Unaccompanied Choir *"And So I Go On" (2015, SSAATTBB), commissioned by Jonathan Talberg and Edith Copley in memory of German Aguilar, first performance by the

Bob Cole Conservatory of Music The Bob Cole Conservatory of Music is the school of music at California State University, Long Beach. In March 2008, the music department was renamed the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music in honor of an endowment gift of $16.4 million from the estate ...

Chamber Choir at

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

References

External links

Todd Boss websiteTodd Boss biography from the website of the Poetry FoundationTodd Boss biography from the website of the Academy of American PoetsMotionpoems websiteIMDb website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boss, Todd 1968 births Living people American installation artists St. Olaf College alumni University of Alaska Anchorage alumni Writers from Minneapolis Poets from Wisconsin People from Marshfield, Wisconsin People from Colby, Wisconsin Film producers from Wisconsin 21st-century American poets American male poets 21st-century American male writers Film producers from Minnesota Artists from Wisconsin Artists from Minneapolis 21st-century American male artists