Samuel Talmadge Ragan (December 31, 1915 – May 11, 1996)Representative Eva Clayton of North Carolina
''Tribute To Sam Ragan''
(House of Representatives – May 16, 1996). Retrieved September 10, 2016. was an American journalist, author, poet, and arts advocate from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Early life and education

Sam Ragan was born in Berea, North Carolina, an unincorporated community in

Granville County Granville County is a county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,992. Its county seat is Oxford. Granville County encompasses Oxford, NC Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

. In 1936, he graduated from Atlantic Christian College, (now

Barton College Barton College is a private college in Wilson, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and enrolls about 1,200 students on campus. History Barton College was incorporated as Atlantic Christian College ...

) in Wilson, North Carolina.

Career

He served briefly as a reporter for the ''San Antonio Evening News (''now the '' San Antonio Express-News)'' and then returned to North Carolina, where, beginning in 1941, he held various editorial positions with '' The Raleigh News & Observer''. While with the ''News & Observer,'' he began writing ''Southern Accent'', a weekly

newspaper column A column is a recurring piece or article in a newspaper, magazine or other publication, where a writer expresses their own opinion in few columns allotted to them by the newspaper organisation. Columns are written by columnists. What differe ...

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

criticism,

commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

and poetry. It became the longest running column in the United States and appeared in forty-three states and twenty-four foreign countries. In 1969 he purchased ''The Pilot'', a small weekly newspaper in

Southern Pines, North Carolina Southern Pines is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 12,334 as of the 2010 United States Census. History Southern Pines was founded as a winter health resort for Northerners. As of 1898, it was a sundo ...

. Ragan served as its editor and publisher, remaining active on ''The Pilot's'' staff until his death. In addition to his work as a newspaperman Ragan published six collections of verse including ''Journey into Morning'' and ''To The Water's Edge,'' as well as several works of non-fiction. He was the first secretary of the

North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is a cabinet-level department within the state government of North Carolina dedicated to overseeing projects in the arts, culture, and history within the borders of the state. The cur ...

and the first chair of the

North Carolina Arts Council The North Carolina Arts Council is an organization in the U.S. state of North Carolina that provides grants to artists, musicians and arts organizations. The group's mission is "arts for all people." It was founded by executive order in 1964 by Gov ...

. He taught

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

and journalism at

Sandhills Community College Sandhills Community College is a public community college in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Sandhills was chartered in 1963, and officially opened October 1, 1965. It was the first comprehensive community college authorized and established as the ...

St. Andrews Presbyterian College St. Andrews University is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Laurinburg, North Carolina. The university was established in 1958 as a result of a merger of Flora MacDonald College in Red Springs and Presbyterian Junior College; it wa ...

(now St. Andrews University) and North Carolina State University. He served as president of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

Managing Editors and the North Carolina Press Association. In addition to serving on the boards of several associations devoted to history, music and the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

he helped found and guide the

North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

, and the Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities. Ragan was a recipient of the North Carolina Award in Fine Arts, the John Taylor Caldwell Award for The Humanities, The Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry, the R. Hunt Parker Award for Literary Achievement, the Morrison Award and the North Caroliniana Society Award. He was elected to both the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame and the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame. Ragan was awarded honorary doctorates at St. Andrews University in

Laurinburg, North Carolina Laurinburg is a city in and the county seat of Scotland County, North Carolina, United States. Located in southern North Carolina near the South Carolina border, Laurinburg is southwest of Fayetteville and is home to St. Andrews University. ...

, Atlantic Christian College, The

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, and Methodist College, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In 1982, Governor Jim Hunt named Sam Ragan North Carolina's Poet Laureate for life.

Personal life

A member of the Presbyterian church, Ragan was also a lifelong member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Ragan married Marjorie Usher in 1939. They were married for 56 years and had two daughters. Ragan died in

at the age of 80.

Legacy

In 1981, St. Andrews University established the Sam Ragan Awards, are given annually to honor contributions to fine art.

founded the Sam and Marjorie Ragan Writing Center in their honor. In 2003 the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association paid tribute to Ragan's memory by establishing the Ragan Old North State Award Cup for Nonfiction.

Elena Ruehr Elena Ruehr (born 1963, Ann Arbor) is an American musician, music educator and composer. Life and career Elena Ruehr's parents were a mathematician and an English professor. She grew up in Houghton, Michigan and began piano lessons at age four. Sh ...

composed a musical piece titled "Exodus", based on four poems by Ragan. The work was commissioned by the Coastal Carolina Chamber Music Festival and premiered during the 2005 season.Classical Voice of North Carolina
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Books

*''Back to Beginnings: Adlai E. Stevenson and North Carolina''. o-authored with Elizabeth S. Ives Charlotte, N.C.: Heritage Printers, 1969. *''Collected Poems of Sam Ragan''. Laurinburg, N.C.: St. Andrews Press, 1990. *''Journey into Morning''. Laurinburg, N.C.: St. Andrews Press, 1981. *''Listening to the Wind''. Laurinburg, N.C.: St. Andrews Press, 1995. *''The New Day''. ditor Zebulon, N.C.: Record Publishing Company, 1964. *''Poetry under the Stars''. ditor; Friday Noon Poets Durham, N.C.: Moore Publishing Company, 1979. *''To the Water's Edge''. Durham, N.C.: Moore Publishing Company, 1971. *''The Tree in the Far Pasture''. Winston-Salem, N.C.: John F. Blair, Publisher, 1964. *''A Walk into April''. Laurinburg, N.C.: St. Andrews Press, 1986. *''Weymouth: An Anthology of Poetry'' ditor Laurinburg, N.C.: St. Andrews Press, 1987.

References

External links

in the

Southern Historical Collection The Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South. These collections are made up of unique primary mat ...

, UNC-Chapel Hill {{DEFAULTSORT:Ragan, Sam 1915 births 1996 deaths Barton College alumni American male journalists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American poets People from Alexander County, North Carolina Poets Laureate of North Carolina Poets from North Carolina State cabinet secretaries of North Carolina American male poets 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers