FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State University English Professor Dr. Sam Dodson will debut his new book, Big Life, in a 7 p.m. Nov. 9 event at the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center Workshop Theater in Stephenville.

The occasion, “Big Life: A Night of Poetry and its Musical Rhythms,” will feature readings from the book and music from Mark Beauregard and Brandon Kopp, followed by a book signing.

Admission is free.

Dr. Dodson’s performances of his poetry embellished with jazz and rock and roll have garnered praise from audiences and critics across the U.S.

“Sam Dodson is a terrific poet and a consummate storyteller,” said Thomas Schatz, Professor of Film at UT Austin and author of Hollywood Genres, Boom and Bust and The Genius of the System.

“The ‘little worlds’ that he crafts in Big Life steadily, delicately cohere into an enthralling memoir —a story that conjures up the pieces and the places and the people that have shaped him, and that inspire him still.”

Growing up in a large Catholic family in Omaha, Dr. Dodson was educated in an all-boys Jesuit high school in the early ’70s. He holds an MA from the University of Iowa and a PhD from the University of Nebraska.

He is the author of Berryman’s Henry: Living at the Intersection of Need and Art, published in 2006, along with numerous scholarly articles. He lives in Fort Worth with his wife and the youngest of his five children.

A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.