Maxine Scates is 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 ...

Life

Born and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, she received a B.A. in English from

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

, where she studied with the poet

Ann Stanford Ann Stanford (November 25, 1916 – July 12, 1987) was an American poet. Early life and education Ann Stanford was born in La Habra, California and attended Stanford University where she graduated in 1938 ''Phi Beta Kappa'', and University of Ca ...

, whose selected poems ''Holding Our Own: The Selected Poems of Ann Stanford'' she later co-edited with another former student of Stanford's, the poet

David Trinidad David Trinidad (born 1953 in Los Angeles, California) is an American poet. David Trinidad was born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in the San Fernando Valley. He attended California State University, Northridge, where he studied poetry wi ...

. She moved to

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

in 1973 to pursue an M.F.A. at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

which she received in 1975. She is the author of four books of poems, ''My Wilderness'' (forthcoming October 2021, University of Pittsburgh Press), ''Undone'' (New Issues 2011), ''Black Loam'' (Cherry Grove, 2005) which received the Lyre Prize and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award for Poetry, and ''Toluca Street'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1989), which received the

Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize The Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize is a major American literary award for a first full-length book of poetry in the English language. This prize of the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States was initiated by ...

, and subsequently the Oregon Book Award (Stafford/Hall Award) for Poetry. She has taught throughout the state of Oregon, most recently at

Reed College Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...

. Her poems have appeared in such journals as Agni, The American Poetry Review, Antioch Review, Cave Wall, Crazyhorse, Hubbub, Ironwood, Massachusetts Review, Missouri Review, Ninth Letter, Ploughshares, Plume, Poetry, Prairie Schooner, The New England Review, The New Yorker, The Virginia Quarterly Review and ZYZZYVA and have received the Pushcart Prize in 2010 and 2016. She lives in

with her husband, William Cadbury.

Awards

* 1988

, for ''Toluca Street'' * 1990

Oregon Book Award The Oregon Book Awards are presented annually by Literary Arts to honor the "state’s finest accomplishments by Oregon writers who work in genres of poetry, fiction, graphic literature, drama, literary nonfiction, and literature for young readers. ...

for Poetry * 2004 Lyre Prize for ''Black Loam'' * 2010

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowell ...

Fellow, Oregon Arts Commission and Literary Arts Fellowship * 2016

Works

*
"Mother's Closet", ''Poetry Foundation''
* * * *

Editor

External links

Official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scates, Maxine Living people Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize winners Reed College faculty Lewis & Clark College faculty 1949 births Poets from Oregon American women poets California State University, Northridge alumni University of Oregon alumni American women academics