Jack Collom
Encyclopedia
Jack Collom is an American poet
, teacher and essayist. His twenty-three books include Blue Heron & IBC, The Fox, Arguing with Something Plato Said, Red Car Goes By: Selected Poems 1955-2000, Exchanges of Earth and Sky and Situation Sings (with Lyn Hejinian
). He has been anthologized in countless magazines and collections in the United States and abroad, from Best Poems of 1963 to The Best American Poetry 2004.
Named John Aldridge Collom by his parents, he was born in Chicago and grew up in the small town of Western Springs, Illinois
, spending much of his time hiking and birding in nearby woods. He studied Forestry at Colorado A&M
College, spent four years in the U.S. Air Force
, then worked in factories for twenty years while writing poetry. In 1956 Jack married Edeltraud Maria Teresia Hopps in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. They moved to the United States in 1958, eventually settling in Boulder, Colorado. They had three sons; Nathaniel, Christopher, and Franz. They divorced in 1974, and Jack had a daughter (Sierra) through a second marriage.
He received his BA and MA from the University of Colorado, on the GI Bill
, and has taught creative writing
to children of all ages for thirty-five years. Teachers & Writers Collaborative
has published three books of Jack's reflections on this experience, notably Poetry Everywhere and Moving Windows. From 1966 to 1977, he published the work of many leading lights in a little magazine
called “The.” The National Endowment for the Arts
has twice awarded him Poetry Fellowships, as has the Fund for Poetry, and he’s received grants and awards from various local organizations.
Since 1986, Collom has taught at Naropa University
’s Jack Kerouac School
of Disembodied Poetics as an adjunct professor
, where he shaped Writing Outreach, a community creative-writing project, into a course. In 1989, he pioneered Eco-Lit, one of the first ecology literature courses ever offered. Some of his accomplishments as an environmentalist-poet are documented in American Environmental Leaders: From Colonial Times to the Present. His nature writings and essays about the environment have been published in, among others, ecopoetics, The Alphabet of Trees: A Guide to Writing Nature Poetry, and ISLE, the journal of the American Society for Literature and the Environment.
He has read and taught throughout the United States, in Mexico, Costa Rica
, Austria, Belgium, and Germany. In 2008, he was the plenary speaker at the “Poetic Ecologies” Conference at the Université Libre de Bruxelles
. In 2009, he led a three-week Creativity and Aging Program at Woodland Pattern in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
.
He has worked with numerous dancers, visual artists and musician/composers, and recorded three CDs: Calluses of Poetry and Colors Born of Shadow, with Ken Bernstein, and Blue Yodel Blue Heron, with Dan Hankin and Sierra Collom.
In 2001, his adopted hometown of Boulder, Colorado
, declared and celebrated a “Jack Collom Day.”
Poetry Everywhere (with Sheryl Noethe), Teachers & Writers Collaborative (New York), 1994
The Task, Baksun Books (Colorado), 1996
Red Car Goes By: Selected Poems 1955-2000, Tuumba Press (California), 2001
Exchanges of Earth and Sky, Fish Drum Press (New York), 2006
Situations, Sings, with Lyn Hejinian, Adventures in Poetry (New York), 2008
Fish Drum Press -- http://www.fishdrum.com/
Jacket Magazine, « An Ecosystem of Writing Ideas » -- http://www.jackmagazine.com/issue2/eco.html
SPDBooks—www.spdbooks.org
Teachers & Writers Collaborative -- http://www.twc.org/
Poetry of the United States
American poetry, the poetry of the United States, arose first as efforts by colonists to add their voices to English poetry in the 17th century, well before the constitutional unification of the thirteen colonies...
, teacher and essayist. His twenty-three books include Blue Heron & IBC, The Fox, Arguing with Something Plato Said, Red Car Goes By: Selected Poems 1955-2000, Exchanges of Earth and Sky and Situation Sings (with Lyn Hejinian
Lyn Hejinian
Lyn Hejinian is an American poet, essayist, translator and publisher. She is often associated with the Language poets and is well known for her landmark work My Life , as well as her book of essays, The Language of Inquiry .-Life:Hejinian was born in the San...
). He has been anthologized in countless magazines and collections in the United States and abroad, from Best Poems of 1963 to The Best American Poetry 2004.
Named John Aldridge Collom by his parents, he was born in Chicago and grew up in the small town of Western Springs, Illinois
Western Springs, Illinois
Western Springs is a suburb of Chicago located in Cook County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 12,493. It is twinned with Rugeley, United Kingdom....
, spending much of his time hiking and birding in nearby woods. He studied Forestry at Colorado A&M
Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...
College, spent four years in the U.S. Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, then worked in factories for twenty years while writing poetry. In 1956 Jack married Edeltraud Maria Teresia Hopps in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. They moved to the United States in 1958, eventually settling in Boulder, Colorado. They had three sons; Nathaniel, Christopher, and Franz. They divorced in 1974, and Jack had a daughter (Sierra) through a second marriage.
He received his BA and MA from the University of Colorado, on the GI Bill
G.I. Bill of Rights
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 , known informally as the G.I. Bill, was an omnibus law that provided college or vocational education for returning World War II veterans as well as one year of unemployment compensation...
, and has taught creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
to children of all ages for thirty-five years. Teachers & Writers Collaborative
Teachers & Writers Collaborative
Teachers & Writers Collaborative is a New York City-based organization that sends writers and other artists into schools. It was founded in 1967 by a group of writers and educators including Herbert Kohl, June Jordan, Muriel Rukeyser, Grace Paley, and Anne Sexton, who believed that writers could...
has published three books of Jack's reflections on this experience, notably Poetry Everywhere and Moving Windows. From 1966 to 1977, he published the work of many leading lights in a little magazine
Literary magazine
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 letters...
called “The.” The National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
has twice awarded him Poetry Fellowships, as has the Fund for Poetry, and he’s received grants and awards from various local organizations.
Since 1986, Collom has taught at Naropa University
Naropa University
Naropa University is a private American liberal arts university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher and Oxford University scholar Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the eleventh-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda.Naropa describes itself as...
’s Jack Kerouac School
Jack Kerouac School
The Jack Kerouac School was founded at Naropa University in 1974 by Chögyam Trungpa, and Beat Generation poets Allen Ginsbergand Anne Waldman. The school consists of the Summer Writing Program and the Department of Writing and Poetics, which administers the Master of Fine Arts in Writing and...
of Disembodied Poetics as an adjunct professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, where he shaped Writing Outreach, a community creative-writing project, into a course. In 1989, he pioneered Eco-Lit, one of the first ecology literature courses ever offered. Some of his accomplishments as an environmentalist-poet are documented in American Environmental Leaders: From Colonial Times to the Present. His nature writings and essays about the environment have been published in, among others, ecopoetics, The Alphabet of Trees: A Guide to Writing Nature Poetry, and ISLE, the journal of the American Society for Literature and the Environment.
He has read and taught throughout the United States, in Mexico, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Austria, Belgium, and Germany. In 2008, he was the plenary speaker at the “Poetic Ecologies” Conference at the Université Libre de Bruxelles
Université Libre de Bruxelles
The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...
. In 2009, he led a three-week Creativity and Aging Program at Woodland Pattern in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
.
He has worked with numerous dancers, visual artists and musician/composers, and recorded three CDs: Calluses of Poetry and Colors Born of Shadow, with Ken Bernstein, and Blue Yodel Blue Heron, with Dan Hankin and Sierra Collom.
In 2001, his adopted hometown of Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, declared and celebrated a “Jack Collom Day.”
Selected publications
Arguing with Something Plato Said, Rocky Ledge Editions (Colorado), 1990Poetry Everywhere (with Sheryl Noethe), Teachers & Writers Collaborative (New York), 1994
The Task, Baksun Books (Colorado), 1996
Red Car Goes By: Selected Poems 1955-2000, Tuumba Press (California), 2001
Exchanges of Earth and Sky, Fish Drum Press (New York), 2006
Situations, Sings, with Lyn Hejinian, Adventures in Poetry (New York), 2008
External links
Adventures in Poetry – http://www.adventuresinpoetry.com/index_books.htmlFish Drum Press -- http://www.fishdrum.com/
Jacket Magazine, « An Ecosystem of Writing Ideas » -- http://www.jackmagazine.com/issue2/eco.html
SPDBooks—www.spdbooks.org
Teachers & Writers Collaborative -- http://www.twc.org/