Knudson, R.R. (Rozanne Ruth), 1932- 2008

Biographical Information

Knudson was born on June 1, 1932 in Washington. Her parents, James and Ruth Ellsworth Knudson, had six children. Knudson spent some time in high school in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1954, she graduated with a BA from Brigham Young University and later received an MA from the University of Georgia in 1955. She taught high school English in Miami and Key West, Florida before earning her PhD at Stanford University in 1967. Afterwards, Knudson taught English at colleges such as Purdue University, Adelphi University, and York College of the City University of New York. After putting together an anthology of sports poetry, an editor urged her to write a book about sports, because "There aren't any women writing about women athletes." As an athlete herself, Knudson played baseball, tennis, football, and jogged well into her 60s. The characters in the books she wrote were women who participated in sports that were traditionally dominated by men. Knudson especially gained recognition for her "Zan" series, including titles such as Zanballer (1972), Zanbanger (1977), and Zanboomer (1978). In addition, Knudson also wrote biographies of famous sports stars and collaborated with nationally prominent poet, May Swenson, on a collection of sports poems.