Linda McCarriston
Encyclopedia
Linda McCarriston, and holding dual citizenship of Ireland
and the United States
, is a poet
and Professor
in the Department of Creative Writing
and Literature
at the University of Alaska Anchorage
, teaching Creative Writing and Literary Arts since 1994.
in Creative Writing from Goddard College
in Vermont
and a BFA
at Emmanuel College in Boston
. She has taught at Vermont College, Goddard College and George Washington University
and has been a Poetry Fellow at the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College
.
Bill Moyers
says she writes "about women, children, animals — healing" that "deal with the domestic violence that marred her childhood in working-class Lynn, Massachusetts
and her subsequent feelings as a wife and mother." According to National Book Award
winner Lisel Mueller
: "Linda McCarriston accomplishes a near miracle, transforming memories of trauma into poems that are luminous and often sacramental, arriving at a hard-won peace."
While she was writing for the Maine Sunday Telegram, in Spring 1979 issue of literary journal Ploughshares
, printed her 5 poems named, "Moon in Aquarius", "Eve", "Desire", "The Cleaving" and "Intent" as her first poetry publication.
Her poems have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly
, New England Monthly
, Harvard Review
and "in a broad range of anthologies", she is interviewed interviewed by Terry Gross
on Fresh Air (a local radio) and featured in Bill Moyers
' "The Language of Life: A Festival of Poets" at Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS) and book The Language of Life: A Festival of Poets, 1995. She interviewed for All Things Considered, National Public Radio (NPR), aired July 14, 2001, included in Linda Hogan
's "Intimate Nature" and Robert McDowell's "Cowboy Poetry Matters" and in The New York Times Book Review
.
Her poem "Le Coursier de Jeanne d’Arc" was scored
for soprano
Judith Coen by Bruno Rigacci and had its premiere
at the Spoleto Arts Symposia in July 2000.
Two of her poems were read by Garrison Keillor
in “The Writer’s Almanac”, NPR
, in the week of April 18, 2000.
Invited to contribute 60-page autobiography to Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series, Gale Research, 1996
She was a speaker with Richard Hoffman
, Grace Paley
, Marybeth Holleman and Elizabeth Wales, at the panel titled “Writing with Heart AND Intellect” during Annual AWP
Conference, Vancouver
, British Columbia
on March 31, 2005.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, is a poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and 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...
in the Department of 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...
and Literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
at the University of Alaska Anchorage
University of Alaska Anchorage
The University of Alaska Anchorage is the largest school of the University of Alaska System, with about 16,500 students, about 14,000 of whom attend classes at Goose Lake, its main campus in Anchorage....
, teaching Creative Writing and Literary Arts since 1994.
Life
McCarriston had completed her Master of Fine ArtsMaster of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in Creative Writing from Goddard College
Goddard College
Goddard College is a private, liberal arts college located in Plainfield, Vermont, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Goddard College currently operates on an intensive low-residency model...
in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
and a BFA
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
at Emmanuel College in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. She has taught at Vermont College, Goddard College and George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
and has been a Poetry Fellow at the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard is an educational institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and one of the semiautonomous components of Harvard University. It is heir to the name and buildings of Radcliffe College, but unlike that historical institution, its focus is directed...
.
Poetry
American journalist, public commentator, and former White House Press SecretaryWhite House Press Secretary
The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the government administration....
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers is an American journalist and public commentator. He served as White House Press Secretary in the United States President Lyndon B. Johnson Administration from 1965 to 1967. He worked as a news commentator on television for ten years. Moyers has had an extensive involvement with public...
says she writes "about women, children, animals — healing" that "deal with the domestic violence that marred her childhood in working-class Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 89,050 at the 2000 census. An old industrial center, Lynn is home to Lynn Beach and Lynn Heritage State Park and is about north of downtown Boston.-17th century:...
and her subsequent feelings as a wife and mother." According to National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
winner Lisel Mueller
Lisel Mueller
Lisel Mueller is an American poet.She was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1924 and immigrated to America at the age of 15. Her father, Fritz Neumann, was a professor at Evansville College. Her mother died in 1953. "Though my family landed in the Midwest, we lived in urban or suburban environments,"...
: "Linda McCarriston accomplishes a near miracle, transforming memories of trauma into poems that are luminous and often sacramental, arriving at a hard-won peace."
While she was writing for the Maine Sunday Telegram, in Spring 1979 issue of literary journal Ploughshares
Ploughshares
Ploughshares is an American literary magazine founded in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, Ploughshares has been based at Emerson College in the heart of Boston...
, printed her 5 poems named, "Moon in Aquarius", "Eve", "Desire", "The Cleaving" and "Intent" as her first poetry publication.
Her poems have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...
, New England Monthly
New England Monthly
New England Monthly was a magazine published in Haydenville, Massachusetts from 1984 to 1990. Founded by Robert Nylen and Daniel Okrent , it won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in both 1986 and 1987, and was a finalist for many other National Magazine Awards in its brief...
, Harvard Review
Harvard Review
The Harvard Review is a literary magazine published by the Harvard University library system.Its origins can be dated to 1986, when Stratis Haviaras, the curator of the libraries' poetry room founded a magazine called Erato to publicize poetry room authors.The first issue included a poem by Seamus...
and "in a broad range of anthologies", she is interviewed interviewed by Terry Gross
Terry Gross
Terry Gross is the host and co-executive producer of Fresh Air, an interview format radio show produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and distributed throughout the United States by National Public Radio....
on Fresh Air (a local radio) and featured in Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers is an American journalist and public commentator. He served as White House Press Secretary in the United States President Lyndon B. Johnson Administration from 1965 to 1967. He worked as a news commentator on television for ten years. Moyers has had an extensive involvement with public...
' "The Language of Life: A Festival of Poets" at Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) and book The Language of Life: A Festival of Poets, 1995. She interviewed for All Things Considered, National Public Radio (NPR), aired July 14, 2001, included in Linda Hogan
Linda Hogan (writer)
Linda K. Hogan is a Native American poet, storyteller, academic, playwright, novelist, environmentalist and writer of short stories.She is currently the Chickasaw Nation's Writer in Residence.-Early life:Linda Hogan is Chickasaw...
's "Intimate Nature" and Robert McDowell's "Cowboy Poetry Matters" and in The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
.
Her poem "Le Coursier de Jeanne d’Arc" was scored
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
for soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Judith Coen by Bruno Rigacci and had its premiere
Premiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
at the Spoleto Arts Symposia in July 2000.
Two of her poems were read by Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
in “The Writer’s Almanac”, NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, in the week of April 18, 2000.
Invited to contribute 60-page autobiography to Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series, Gale Research, 1996
She was a speaker with Richard Hoffman
Richard Hoffman
Richard Hoffman may refer to:* Richard Hoffmann , composer and teacher* Richárd Hoffmann , Hungarian footballer* Richard A. Hoffman , American businessman and politician from New York...
, Grace Paley
Grace Paley
Grace Paley was an American-Jewish short story writer, poet, and political activist.-Biography:Grace Paley was born in the Bronx to Isaac and Manya Ridnyik Goodside, who anglicized the family name from Gutseit on immigrating from Ukraine. Her father was a doctor. The family spoke Russian and...
, Marybeth Holleman and Elizabeth Wales, at the panel titled “Writing with Heart AND Intellect” during Annual AWP
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
The Association of Writers & Writing Programs is a literary organization whose mission is "to foster literary talent and achievement, to advance the art of writing as essential to a good education, and to serve the makers, teachers, students, and readers of contemporary writing."-Members:AWP...
Conference, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
on March 31, 2005.
Honors and awards
- 1984 AWP AwardAssociation of Writers & Writing ProgramsThe Association of Writers & Writing Programs is a literary organization whose mission is "to foster literary talent and achievement, to advance the art of writing as essential to a good education, and to serve the makers, teachers, students, and readers of contemporary writing."-Members:AWP...
Series Selection. - 1991, Eva-Mary, book of 35 poems, won the Terrence Des PresTerrence Des PresTerrence Des Pres was an American writer, and Holocaust scholar.- Life :Terrence Des Pres graduated from Southeast Missouri State College in 1962....
Prize - 1991 National Book AwardNational Book AwardThe National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
finalist - 1996, Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Creative Activity, UAAUniversity of Alaska AnchorageThe University of Alaska Anchorage is the largest school of the University of Alaska System, with about 16,500 students, about 14,000 of whom attend classes at Goose Lake, its main campus in Anchorage....
- 2004, As APW Treasurer, she won Alaska Press Women(APW)’s 2004 Communicator of Achievement award, for her "career accomplishments, as well as her participation in APW." Jan Ingram, from the award committee stated, “Linda is a nationally acclaimed poet who fought her way through difficult personal issues and the social pressures of her generation to find her voice. For her students and for the rest of us, she models courage and honesty."
External links
- http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_mccarriston.htmlInterview transcript from the Bill MoyersBill MoyersBill Moyers is an American journalist and public commentator. He served as White House Press Secretary in the United States President Lyndon B. Johnson Administration from 1965 to 1967. He worked as a news commentator on television for ten years. Moyers has had an extensive involvement with public...
book and film, THE LANGUAGE OF LIFE: A FESTIVAL OF POETS] on PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
TV channel - Little River - Poems Selected & New Salmon Poetry
- The Association of Writers and Writing Programs