About Dr. William Ramsey

Bio: I earned my Ph.D. from Tulane University in 1998 and have taught at Tulane, SUNY-Oswego, and the University of Idaho. Currently, I hold the position of Professor of History at Lander University in South Carolina. Over the past thirty years, my poems have been featured in various periodicals, including Beloit Poetry Journal, Hampden-Sydney Poetry Review, Poetry East, Poetry Magazine, Poetry Northwest, The South Carolina Review, The Southern Poetry Review, and Tar River Poetry. All my books are dedicated to my beautiful wife, Mei-Yee, with whom I have three wonderful children: Will (25), Zhen (17), and Jing (13).

Books: 

• Dilemmas, Clemson University Press, 2015. (Poetry)
• The Yamasee War: A Study of Culture, Economy, and Conflict in the Colonial South, University of Nebraska Press, 2008. (History)
• Wake Island Wildcat: A Marine Fighter Pilot's Epic Battle at the Beginning of World War II, Stackpole Books, 2024. (History)

Awards: 

• George C. Rogers, Jr., book award for the best book of South Carolina History, sponsored by the South Carolina Historical Society, 2008; 
• Dr. Linda Veldheer Memorial Prize, “Merci Sans La Belle Dame,” Poetry Society of South Carolina, 2026
• South Carolina Nature Conservancy Prize, “Waiting by 378 for the Monks to Cross into South Carolina,” Poetry Society of South Carolina 2026.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Service Award, 2005, awarded jointly by the University of Idaho and Washington State University for public activism in defense of Civil Rights and racial tolerance; Outstanding Faculty Award, Student Association of the University of Idaho, 2007.