Ron Androla (born August 7, 1954) is an American poet and the author of more than forty books of poetry. He has been published extensively in the Americansmall press scene.
Androla was born inNew Castle, Pennsylvania to a family of mixed Syrian and Italian ancestry. In the early 1970s, Androla attendedPoint Park College and laterFranconia College, where he studied under poetRobert Grenier and cameunder the influence ofLanguage poets whom he emulated at the time. However, he regards himself as part of a tradition of underground American poetry that largely rejects academic context. He considers his entry into the labor force as the true inception of his poetic vocation. For over thirty years, he worked in factories as apressure press operator. The faces and personas of coworkers often feature in his poetry, which sketches the minutiae of working-class existence in the United States in a confessional style. Before retiring, Androla also worked as a directory assistance operator for a major telecommunications company. His writing credits continue to accumulate, spanning over half a century of publishing.
He currently resides inErie, Pennsylvania with his wife, Ann, who is also a writer.
He cites the work of theBlack Mountain poets as an early source of inspiration, and his work continues to show a strong influence of theProjective Verse style. His work also demonstrates the considerable influence ofCharles Bukowski, especially in its disaffection and in its use of the short line,paratactical structures, colloquial enjambments andstream of consciousness technique. LikeJack Kerouac and otherBeat poets, Androla prefers spontaneity and directness of experience. His poetry often explores an oneiric mental landscape which underlies everyday experience, with recurrent themes of alienation and ecstasy; its tone is most often curious and subtly bemused. He also writes vivid, imaginative short stories & flash fiction, featured in two of his recently published books.