Elizabeth "Betsy" Colquitt (1926 – 7 April 2009) was an American

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of English and a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

known for themes and poetic structures which reflect a

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

sensibility. She was born in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1926 and died on 7 April 2009.

Background

Colquitt's

poems Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

essays An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

, and reviews have been widely published in major American

literary journals A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...

for forty years. Colquitt, née Betsy Ruth Feagan, was born in Fort Worth, Texas where she attended

Paschal High School R. L. Paschal High School is a secondary school in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is part of the Fort Worth Independent School District, and the oldest and largest high school in Fort Worth ISD. The school is ranked 322nd in Texas and 3,892 ...

and graduated with honors with a degree in English from

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciple ...

in 1947. She attended

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

and studied

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

in a graduate program that included

Allen Tate John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979), known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Life Early years Tate was born near Winchester, ...

and

John Crowe Ransom John Crowe Ransom (April 30, 1888 – July 3, 1974) was an American educator, scholar, literary critic, poet, essayist and editor. He is considered to be a founder of the New Criticism school of literary criticism. As a faculty member at Kenyon ...

who served as Colquitt's professors and mentors.

James Dickey James Lafayette Dickey (February 2, 1923 January 19, 1997) was an American poet and novelist. He was appointed the eighteenth United States Poet Laureate in 1966. He also received the Order of the South award. Dickey is best known for his n ...

was a classmate. Colquitt received her M.A. degree from Vanderbilt in 1948. She attended the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

to work on her Ph.D. but left the program in 1953 to return to Fort Worth because her mother had suffered a stroke. Colquitt joined the faculty of the English department at Texas Christian University in 1953 where she taught literature and creative writing until her retirement in 1995. A course she developed on the "Interrelation of the Arts" became a mainstay of the program and a much beloved and influential course among her students. At TCU, she also became the founding editor of the literary journal ''Descant'', which she edited for twenty-five years. The major poetry award offered by ''Descant'' is named in her honor. While at TCU, Colquitt met and married Landon Colquitt, a mathematics professor to whom she was married until his death from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in 1991. The Colquitts had two daughters, Kate, a physician, and Clare, a professor at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

. Colquitt's volumes of poetry include ''Honor Card and Other Poems'' (Saurian Press, 1980) and ''Eve: From the Autobiography and Other Poems'' (Texas Christian University Press, 1997). ''Eve'' has been praised for its feminist analyses of

creativity Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed Literature ...

and of woman's role in the creation, and this volume together with many of Colquitt's other

and

, have led many critics to view Colquitt as a leading woman writer. Critics also praise Colquitt's work for its insights into cognition and creativity and for its sensitivity to the longings of the

human heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...

for an identity rooted in meaning and purpose. James Ward Lee wrote: "Betsy Colquitt has long been recognized as one of Texas’ finest poets."Eve - from the Autobiography
Texas A&M University. Information on and analyses of Colquitt's works are included in ''Contemporary Authors, Who's Who of American Women, Directory of American Scholars'', and ''World's Who's Who of Women''. She also held memberships in the Texas Institute of Letters and in the American Center for Artists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colquitt, Betsy 1926 births 2009 deaths Writers from Fort Worth, Texas Texas Christian University alumni Vanderbilt University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Texas Christian University faculty American women poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers American women academics