Carter Monroe

Carter Monroe is a pseudonym for a poet/novelist/editor (born August 30, 1952 in Goldsboro, North Carolina.) He is the author of four chapbooks, most notably Waffle House Blues (fingerprint press 2004.) While a student at various colleges in North Carolina, Monroe began to write and publish poetry.

Isolated by virtue of region from much of modern literature, Monroe discovered Richard Brautigan in 1971 and shortly thereafter began to research poetry on his own. The various private colleges he attended were church-supported and with the exception of William Carlos Williams, Wallace Stevens, and Ezra Pound, there was little else available in the campus libraries of contemporary value.

He took a sabbatical from his studies in the Fall of 1972 to “roam the world and write.” His scant publication credits were acquired during this time in a few now defunct small press journals. During this period, he read obsessively and was introduced to the work of The Beats, Robert Creeley, Ed Dorn, Jack Spicer, Philip Whalen, and Kenneth Patchen.

In the fall of 1973, he returned to college as a full-time student graduating with a degree in American Literature in December, 1974. Shortly thereafter, he married and began a career in industrial management. He would write no more for 25 years.

His first and only published novel, Journey (Authorhouse 2001), was completed in late 1999. Though lauded by critics for its vivid and accurate portrayal of the LSD experience, it sold sparingly. While involved with the completion of this manuscript, Monroe began to write poems sporadically. Upon reading Crayola in Arcana by Jeffrey Little (Mudlark 2000), he recommitted himself to poetry and wrote the ra postcards which later were included in his first chapbook, Sittin’ in with the Sun (Rank Stranger Press 2001.) His work also began to appear in various journals throughout the small press in the US and abroad.

In Summer 2005, his first full length collection of poetry The New Lost Blues – Selected Poems (Thunder Sandwich Press) was published. In his role as editor for Rank Stranger Press, he has facilitated the publication of books by both established and new writers. His work has been translated into several languages.

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