Alumni Book Nook: Lloyd Ratzlaff (MEd’79)

University of Saskatchewan (USask) graduate Lloyd Ratzlaff, an award-winning nonfiction author, has made his poetry debut with Walking Upstream.

Ratzlaff said his book of poems, released this spring by Thistledown Press, focuses on “overcoming a harsh religious background and seeking consolation from the natural world.” Walking Upstream follows the release of Ratzlaff’s works of literary nonfiction, The Crow Who Tampered With Time and Backwater Mystic Blues. He has also edited an anthology of seniors’ writings and a children’s book.

In a review of Walking Upstream published on the SaskBooks website, USask graduate Shelley A. Leedahl (BA’07) wrote that “Ratzlaff possesses a gift for evoking emotion in just a few poignant lines—some might consider this poetry’s raison d’être—and his poems reflect that over a lifetime, the former counsellor’s mastered the oft-ignored art of listening.” 

Ratzlaff, who lives and writes in Saskatoon, earned his Master of Education degree at USask in 1979. A former minister, counsellor, and sessional lecturer, Ratzlaff has been a finalist for three Saskatchewan Book Awards and has received two Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild literary nonfiction awards. Writing has been important to Ratzlaff throughout his life; in addition to writing books, he worked as a freelance writer, served on the boards of several writing organizations, and taught writing classes for Foundations Learning & Skills Saskatchewan and the Western Development Museum.

Earlier this summer, after making a presentation at the Saskatchewan Festival of Words in Moose Jaw, Sask., Ratzlaff talked to the Green&White about his first poetry collection and why he wrote it.

What inspired you to write Walking Upstream?

Several writers I admired said my literary nonfiction often sounded as if it wanted to be poetry. I hadn’t imagined being a poet but eventually summoned courage to send out a manuscript. I’m nearing 80 now, and it counts as a miracle that Thistledown Press, who first published my literary nonfiction, accepted this debut poetry manuscript as well.

Did your education at USask play a role in researching and/or writing this book?

My post-secondary education was focused on psychology, and I learned how to write clear academic prose. Then, with help from friends and organizations like the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild and Sage Hill Writing, and with welcome financial support from SK Arts, I ventured into creative writing.

Why would you recommend your book to USask alumni?

For the same reasons I wrote it: dealing of all kinds of indoctrination and discovering how the natural world can help. Birds make many appearances in this book.

What are five adjectives that you would use to describe your book?

Bright, supple, lyrical, playful, and philosophical.