Todd Boss, a graduate of St. Olaf Collage and Twin Cities local poet, has landed a publishing deal with Norton. He sounds like my kind of guy.

“I write for farmers, factory workers, all those in my immediate circle,” he said. “I am writing about day-to-day life, the struggles of being a human being and love and all the troubadour kinds of things. I’m not writing about the Greek myths. I don’t have to impress the academy, the university professors, because I don’t work with them.”

Norton editor Carol Houck Smith said Boss’ hardcover debut is extraordinary, especially since she usually learns of first-time poets after they’ve won an award or prize. “Yellowrocket” was the first book she’s worked on that didn’t come through that route.