Professor Produces 50th Book in 50 Years

Jonas Zdanys, SHU’s poet in residence, draws on his prior poetry books to publish new compilation

Sacred Heart University Professor Jonas Zdanys’ 50th book, The Angled Road: Collected Poems 1970-2020, was 50 years in the making. It incorporates 628 poems and, to Zdanys, it shows how far he has come since he published his first work in 1970 while a student at Yale.

The Angled Road will be published in March by Lamar University Literary Press, one of the major campuses of the Texas State University System. The Press has published five other books by Zdanys: two collections of his poetry, Three White Horses (2017) and Red Stones (2016); a volume of his translations of Lithuanian poetry into English, Solitary Architectures: Selected Poems of Kornlejus Platelis (2014); and two anthologies for which he served as editor, Unlocking the Word: An Anthology of Found Poetry (2018) and Pushing the Envelope: Epistolary Poems (2015). 

This book gathers poems from 17 of Zdanys’ earlier books, written over the course of 50 years, from his days at Yale University to today.

“Preparing a collection of my poems to celebrate a half century of writing and publishing seemed an appropriate way to mark some important milestones in my life,” said Zdanys, professor of English and SHU’s poet in residence. “The book is my 50th book, it is being published on the 50th anniversary of the first publication of my poems in the Yale Literary Magazine, and it marks an important birthday. I consider this book to be the crowning achievement of my literary career.”

Jerry Craven, director of the Lamar University Literary Press, expressed his enthusiasm for the book. “Zdanys is one of the most—if not the most—talented contemporary poet I have ever read. We appreciate that he has chosen to publish with Lamar University Literary Press, and we know that The Angled Road: Collected Poems 1970-2020 will be a significant addition to American letters.”