David Mason (writer)
Encyclopedia
David Mason is an American
writer and the Poet Laureate
of Colorado
.
. He studied briefly at the Colorado College
, but left after one year to work as a fisherman in Alaska. He returned to the college to earn his B.A. in 1978. Mason and then-wife, Jonna Heinrich, moved to Rochester, New York
, where he worked as a gardener. In 1980 they went to Greece, where they lived for just over a year in Kardamyli, Greece, in the Mani district of southernmost part of the Peloponnesus. While living there he became a friend of the British travel author and war hero, Patrick Leigh Fermor
. Mason returned to the United States when he was hired to write the screenplay for a film based on a novel he had written. In the end the film was canceled when the production company closed its film division.
After a part-time teaching stint at Colorado College, he began studying at the University of Rochester
under Anthony Hecht
. His first marriage ended, and in 1988 he married Scottish photojournalist Anne Lennox. He received his doctorate from The University of Rochester and moved to Moorhead, Minnesota
, where he taught at Minnesota State University Moorhead
for ten years. Mason spent the academic year of 1996-97 in Greece on a Fulbright fellowship, where he continued to perfect his Greek, meet Greek intellectuals and writers, translate and write, and visit old places from 16 years earlier. In 1998, Mason returned to his alma mater, Colorado College
, where he now co-directs the Creative Writing program. In 2010 Mason was named Colorado Poet Laureate. He and wife Lennox lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado
until the marriage ended in 2012. Currently he lives in Manitou Springs, Colorado.
Poetry Prize) and The Country I Remember (winner of the Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award). He is coeditor of four major anthologies and has authored dozens of poems, essays, reviews, translations, stories and memoirs. An advisory editor at the Hudson Review, the Sewanee Review and Divide, Mason’s work can be found in such periodicals as The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Nation, The New Republic, The New York Times, The Times Literary Supplement, Poetry, Agenda, Modern Poetry in Translation, The New Criterion, Yale Review, The Hudson Review, The American Scholar, The Irish Times, and The Southern Review.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer and the Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
Life
David Mason was born and raised in Bellingham, WashingtonBellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
. He studied briefly at the Colorado College
Colorado College
The Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
, but left after one year to work as a fisherman in Alaska. He returned to the college to earn his B.A. in 1978. Mason and then-wife, Jonna Heinrich, moved to Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, where he worked as a gardener. In 1980 they went to Greece, where they lived for just over a year in Kardamyli, Greece, in the Mani district of southernmost part of the Peloponnesus. While living there he became a friend of the British travel author and war hero, Patrick Leigh Fermor
Patrick Leigh Fermor
Sir Patrick "Paddy" Michael Leigh Fermor, DSO, OBE was a British author, scholar and soldier, who played a prominent role behind the lines in the Cretan resistance during World War II. He was widely regarded as "Britain's greatest living travel writer", with books including his classic A Time of...
. Mason returned to the United States when he was hired to write the screenplay for a film based on a novel he had written. In the end the film was canceled when the production company closed its film division.
After a part-time teaching stint at Colorado College, he began studying at the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
under Anthony Hecht
Anthony Hecht
Anthony Evan Hecht was an American poet. His work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history, with the Second World War, in which he fought, and the Holocaust being recurrent themes in his work.-Early years:Hecht was born in New York...
. His first marriage ended, and in 1988 he married Scottish photojournalist Anne Lennox. He received his doctorate from The University of Rochester and moved to Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, United States, and the largest city in northwest Minnesota. The population was 38,065 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Clay County....
, where he taught at Minnesota State University Moorhead
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Minnesota State University Moorhead is a four-year, public university located in Moorhead, Minnesota. The school has an enrollment of nearly 7,500 students and 337 full-time faculty members. MSUM is a part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system...
for ten years. Mason spent the academic year of 1996-97 in Greece on a Fulbright fellowship, where he continued to perfect his Greek, meet Greek intellectuals and writers, translate and write, and visit old places from 16 years earlier. In 1998, Mason returned to his alma mater, Colorado College
Colorado College
The Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
, where he now co-directs the Creative Writing program. In 2010 Mason was named Colorado Poet Laureate. He and wife Lennox lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
until the marriage ended in 2012. Currently he lives in Manitou Springs, Colorado.
Work
David Mason’s collections of poems include The Buried Houses (winner of the Nicholas RoerichNicholas Roerich
Nicholas Roerich, also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh , was a Russian mystic, painter, philosopher, scientist, writer, traveler, and public figure. A prolific artist, he created thousands of paintings and about 30 literary works...
Poetry Prize) and The Country I Remember (winner of the Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award). He is coeditor of four major anthologies and has authored dozens of poems, essays, reviews, translations, stories and memoirs. An advisory editor at the Hudson Review, the Sewanee Review and Divide, Mason’s work can be found in such periodicals as The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Nation, The New Republic, The New York Times, The Times Literary Supplement, Poetry, Agenda, Modern Poetry in Translation, The New Criterion, Yale Review, The Hudson Review, The American Scholar, The Irish Times, and The Southern Review.
Books
"The Scarlet Libretto." Red Hen Press, 2012.- Essays by David Mason: Two Minds of a Western Poet. University of Michigan Press, 2011.
- News from the Village. Los Angeles, CA: Red Hen Press, 2010.
- Ludlow. Los Angeles, CA: Red Hen Press, 2007. Second edition 2010.
- Arrivals. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2004.
- The Poetry of Life and the Life of Poetry. Story Line Press, 2000.
- The Country I Remember. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 1996.
Edited
- Twentieth Century American Poetry. With Dana Gioia and Meg Schoerke. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
- Twentieth Century American Poetics: Poets on the Art of Poetry. With Dana Gioia and Meg Schoerke. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
- Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry. With John Frederick Nims. New York: McGraw-Hill. 5th ed. 2005.
- Rebel Angels: 25 Poets of the New Formalism. With Mark Jarman. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 1996. Second printing 1998.
Essays
- "'The Song Is Drowned': On Michael Donaghy." The Dark Horse Winter 2009/2010.
- "Close to Seferis." Hudson Review Spring 2004.
- "Anthony Hecht at Eighty." Weekly Standard October 27, 2003.
- "The Two Minds of a Western Poet." Divide Fall 2003.
- "Thomas McGrath." American Writers X. Jay Parini, ed. New York: Scribners, 2002.
- "Reading Greece." Hudson Review Autumn 2002.
- "Robert Frost, Seamus Heaney, and the Wellsprings of Poetry." Sewanee Review Winter 2000.
Memoirs
- "The End of Immortality." Hudson Review Winter 2004.
- "In Katerina's Kitchen." Mondo Greco Spring 2003.
- "Letter from Turkey." Hudson Review Summer 2002.
- "Chatwin's Ashes." Mondo Greco Spring 1999.
- "The Lotos-Eaters." Hudson Review Fall 1998.
Poems
- "Driving with Marli." The New Criterion September 2009.
- "Fog Horns." Poetry September 2004.
- "The Bay of Writing." TLS July 30, 2004.
- "A Thorn in the Paw." Poetry January 2004.
- "Small Steps." Hudson Review Spring 2003.
- "Two Poems." Metre 11 Winter 2001-2002.
- "Three Poems." Metre 9 Spring 2001.
- "Acrostic from Aegina." Hudson Review 1998.
- "A Meaning Made of Trees." New Criterion March 1998.
- "Poems from Greece." Hudson Review Fall 1997.
- "Night Squall." New Criterion November 1996.
- "The Country I Remember: A Narrative." Hudson Review Summer 1995.