Ronald Rozelle is an American author, newspaper columnist, and educator who won the 2022 Summerlee Book Prize for Creative writing.
Ronald Rozelle was raised in Oakwood, Texas, where his father Lester was an educator and school superintendent. He graduated from Oakwood High School in 1970 and earned a Bachelor's of Arts from Sam Houston State University. After teaching English for several years at Palestine High School in Palestine, Texas, Rozelle moved to Lake Jackson, Texas to teach at Brazoswood High School.[1]
In 2017, Rozelle was named a Distinguished Educator of the Year by Sam Houston State University's College of Education.[2]
Rozelle's first book, a memoir called Into That Good Night , contrasted his experience as a father with his experiences as a son. Publishers Weekly noted the book's "potentially tricky structure that ultimately yields a spare, beautifully written" tribute to his father.[3] The Southwestern Historical Quarterly described his account of the 1937 New London School Explosion, My Boys and Girls are in There, as "a well-researched yet eminently readable narrative" that "portrays a very human story in a very human way".[4]
His weekly column for The Brazosport Facts has been compiled into a book, Sundays with Ron Rozelle.[1] His novel, Leaving the Country of Sin: A Novel, was awarded the 2022 Sumerlee Book Prize for Creative writing from the Lamar University Center for History and Culture.[5]
- ^ a b Vernon, Cheril (April 20, 2012), "Our Town: Oakwood author to sign books Saturday", Palestine Herald-Press
- ^ "Rozelle Receives Educator Award", Brazosport Facts, March 17, 2017
- ^ "Into That Good Night", Publishers Weekly, August 3, 1998, retrieved July 24, 2024
- ^ Stanley, Mark (January 2013), "My Boys and Girls Are In There: The 1937 New London School Explosion (review)", Southwestern Historical Quarterly, vol. 116, no. 2, Texas State Historical Association, pp. 339–40
- ^ 2024 Summerlee Book Prize, Lamar University Center for History and Culture