Walking Backwards To Santa Fe Article from El Paso Times

EPCC Professor Publishes 5th Book of Southwest Poetry

Lawrence Welsh has released his fifth poetry book, "Walking Backwards to Santa Fe."

Welsh, an English professor who teaches writing and literature at El Paso Community College, has been featured in many national and regional journals. The Los Angeles Daily Journal once described him as "one of the leading writers on life in the border towns."

His work deals mostly with the aspects of desert life along the border, the object of his writings since he first visited Texas 20 years ago.

A first generation Irish-American, Welsh moved to El Paso from California in 1994. His writing career began at California State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism. He worked as a reporter for several years before he started teaching English at the University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Community College.

Welsh tells audiences that his writing took off when he hitchhiked across the United States in 1989." I found myself really soaking up the Southwest and enjoying it," he said.

In a previous work, "Believing in Bonfires," Welsh continued to display his affinity for the desert Southwest while staying close to his California roots. His other book titles include "Flying Burrito #1," "Downed Texaco" "South Central Serenade,""El Paso's Saddle Blanket Company,"and "Rusted Steel and Bordertown Starts."

Welsh also is a spoken-word artist, who has presented more than 50 readings across the Southwest.

At El Paso Community College, Welsh is one of the founders of the Poetry Jam, an annual event that highlights prominent poets during the college's annual art festival.

Welsh has won many journalism awards, including the Society of Professional Journalists Bill Farr Investigative Reporting Award.