Tom Lowenstein (born 1941) is an English poet, ethnographer, teacher, cultural historian and translator. Beginning his working life as a school teacher, he visited
Alaska in 1973 and went on to become particularly noted for his work on
Inupiaq (north Alaskan Eskimo) ethnography, conducting research in
Point Hope, Alaska, between 1973 and 1988. His writing also encompasses several collections of poetry, as well as books related to
Buddhism. Since 1986 Lowenstein has lived and continued teaching in London.
["Bio"]
Tom Lowenstein website.
Biography
Tom Lowenstein was born near London in 1941. He went to
Leighton Park School, then studied at
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...
, and the
University of Leicester. After university, he taught in secondary schools in London (1966–71), then for three years taught literature and creative writing in the US at
Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois. In 1973 he worked for the
Alaska State Museum, and went on to live on and off (between 1975 and 1988) in the Alaskan village of
Point Hope, recording and translating the local history and legends.
He was awarded 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 ...
in 1979 in the field of Folklore and Popular Culture. Other awards for his research have come from Northwestern University, the
Nuffield Foundation
The Nuffield Foundation is a charitable trust established in 1943 by William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the founder of Morris Motors Ltd. It aims to improve social well-being by funding research and innovation projects in education and social pol ...
, the
Society of Authors, the
British Academy, the
National Endowment for the Arts, the
Leverhulme Trust, the
Arctic Institute of North America,
The American Philosophical Society, Alaska Humanities Forum, and
North Slope Borough, Alaska.
He subsequently (1981–90) followed up an interest in
Buddhist literature by studying
Sanskrit and
Pali at
Cambridge University,
SOAS
SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...
and the
University of Washington.
Lowenstein has also written texts for music collaborations, including with the composer
Ed Hughes ''Sun, Moon and Women Shouting'' (1999) and ''The Sybil of Cumae'' (2001), and the libretto for Rachel Stott's oratorio ''Companion of Angels'' on the lives of
William Blake and
Catherine Blake.
His poetry collections include ''The Death of Mrs Owl'' (1975), ''Filibustering in Samsara'' (1987), ''Ancient Land: Sacred Whale'' (1993), ''Ancestors and Species: New & Selected Ethnographic Poetry'' (2005) and ''Conversation with Murasaki'' (2009).
Selected bibliography
Poetry
* ''Our After-fate'', Softy Loudly Books, 1971
* ''Eskimo Poems from Canada and Greenland'' (translation), London:
Allison & Busby, 1973;
University of Pittsburgh Press, 1973
* ''The Death of Mrs Owl'', London:
Anvil Press Poetry, 1975.
"The Death of Mrs. Owl"
at Carcanet.
* ''Booster – A Game of Divination'', London: Many Press, 1975
* ''La Tempesta’s X-ray'', Many Press, 1988
* ''Filibustering in Samsara'', Many Press, 1987
* ''Ancient Land: Sacred Whale'', Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.
Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
, Farrar Straus and Giroux, Harvill Press
Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press.
History
Secker & Warburg
Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...
.
* ''Ancestors and Species'', Shearsman Books, 2005
* ''Conversation with Murasaki'', Shearsman Books, 2009
* ''From Culbone Wood – in Xanadu: Notebooks and Fanasias'', Shearsman Books, 2013
* ''The Bridge at Uji'', Shearsman Books, 2022.
Works on North-west Alaska
* ''Stories from Point Hope'', Alaska State Museum, Juneau, 1973
* ''Sea Ice Subsistence at Point Hope, Alaska'', North Slope Borough, 1980
* ''The Shaman Aningatchaq'', translation & commentary, Many Press, London, 1982
* ''The Things That Were Said of Them: Oral Histories from Point Hope'', University of California Press / Douglas & McIntyre, 1990
* ''Ancient Land: Sacred Whale, prose and poetry'', Bloomsbury, Harvill Press, Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1993 and 2001.
* ''Ultimate Americans: Point Hope, Alaska 1826–1909'', University of Alaska Press, 2009
Buddhist-related works
* ''The Vision of the Buddha: Buddhism — The Path to Spiritual Enlightenment'', Duncan Baird Publishers /Macmillan, 1996,
* ''Treasures of the Buddha'', Duncan Baird Publishers, 2006
* ''Classic Haiku'', Duncan Baird Publishers, 2007
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowenstein, Tom
Living people
1941 births
Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
20th-century British poets
21st-century British poets
Alumni of the University of Leicester
British scholars of Buddhism
University of Washington alumni
Alumni of SOAS University of London
Male non-fiction writers