Jon Victor Anderson (1940–2007) was an American

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 writte ...

and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

Early life

Anderson was born on July 4, 1940, in

Somerville Somerville may refer to: *Somerville College, Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford Places *Somerville, Victoria, Australia * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia * Somerville, New Zealand, a subur ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, to Henry Victor and Frances (Ladd) Anderson.

Education

Anderson earned a BS from

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

(1964) and a MFA from the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...

at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

(1968).

Works

Anderson's first book, ''Looking for Jonathan'', was an inaugural selection of the

Pitt Poetry Series The ''Pitt Poetry Series'', published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, is one of the largest and best known lists of contemporary American poetry. History The Pitt Poetry Series was established in 1968 by pre ...

of the

University of Pittsburgh Press The University of Pittsburgh Press is a scholarly publishing house and a major American university press, part of the University of Pittsburgh. The university and the press are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The press ...

in 1967. His second, ''Death & Friends'', was nominated for the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

. * ''Looking for Jonathan'', poetry (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1968) * ''Death & Friends'', poetry (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1970) * ''In Sepia'', poetry (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1974) * ''Counting the Days'', poetry (Lisbon: Penumbra, 1974) * ''Cypresses'', poetry (Port Townsend: Graywolf Press, 1981) * ''The Milky Way: Poems 1967-1982'', poetry (New York: Ecco Press, 1983) * ''Day Moon'', poetry (Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2001)

Accolades

He won a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

from the

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been ...

in 1976; the Shelley Memorial Award from Poetry Society of America in 1983 for career achievement; and a

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

fellowship in poetry in 1986.

Teaching

He began his teaching career at the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

1968–72 as an instructor, becoming an assistant professor of creative writing. He was assistant professor of creative writing at

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

1972–73, the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

1973–76, and University of Iowa, Iowa City, 1976–77. At the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

he served as associate professor from 1978 until his retirement. On February, 2008 they held a tribute reading. Poets who studied under Anderson include

Agha Shahid Ali Agha Shahid Ali (4 February 1949 – 8 December 2001) was an Indian-born poet who immigrated to the United States, and became affiliated with the literary movement known as New Formalism in American poetry. His collections include ''A Walk T ...

, Michael Collier,

Stuart Dischell Stuart Dischell (born May 29, 1954 in Atlantic City, New Jersey) is an American poet and Professor in English Creative Writing in the Master of Fine Arts Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Career Stuart Dischell studied ...

Loren Goodman Loren Goodman (born 1968) is an American postmodern poet and associate professor of English literature and creative writing at Underwood International College, Yonsei University, in Seoul, South Korea. Biography and education Goodman is a nativ ...

Tony Hoagland Anthony Dey Hoagland (November 19, 1953 – October 23, 2018) was an American poet. His poetry collection, ''What Narcissism Means to Me'' (2003), was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His other honors included two grant ...

Peter Oresick Peter Oresick ( ; September 8, 1955 – September 3, 2016) was an American poet. Oresick was best known as the editor of '' Working Classics'', a landmark literary anthology of working-class poetry, and as a publisher. He served in senior posi ...

David Rivard David Rivard (born 1953 in Fall River, Massachusetts) is an American poet. He is the author of seven books including ''Wise Poison'', winner the 1996 James Laughlin Award, and ''Standoff'', winner the 2017 PEN New England Award in Poetry. He is ...

, and

David Wojahn David Wojahn (born 1953, St. Paul, Minnesota) is a contemporary American poet who teaches poetry in the Department of English at Virginia Commonwealth University, and in the low residency MFA in Writing program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts ...

Personal life

He married Nancy Garland in 1964; married his second wife, Linda Baker, in 1967; and married third wife, Barbara Hershkowitz in 1971, with whom he had one son, Bodi Orlen Anderson.

Death

Anderson died on October 20, 2007, in Tucson,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, after several weeks of illness. He was cremated and his ashes spread, according to his wishes, in the woods outside of

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...

Sources

''Contemporary Authors Online''. The Gale Group, 2002. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000002170.

References

External links

Jon Anderson webpage, University of Arizona Poetry Center
1940 births 2007 deaths Poets from Massachusetts Ohio University faculty University of Portland faculty University of Pittsburgh faculty University of Arizona faculty Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni 20th-century American poets Northeastern University alumni {{US-poet-1940s-stub