Mary Jo Salter
Encyclopedia
Mary Jo Salter is an American
poet
, a coeditor of The Norton Anthology of Poetry http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nap/ and a professor in the Writing Seminars program at Johns Hopkins University
.
and was raised in Detroit, Michigan
and Baltimore, Maryland. She received her B.A. from Harvard University
in 1976 and her M.A. from Cambridge University in 1978. In 1976, she participated in the Glascock Prize
contest.
While at Harvard, she studied with the noted poet, Elizabeth Bishop
. She has been an editor at the Atlantic Monthly and at The New Republic
.
From 1984 to 2007, she taught at Mount Holyoke College
and was, from 1995 to 2007, a vice president of the Poetry Society of America
.
Salter is married to Brad Leithauser
, a writer, who also teaches at Johns Hopkins University. They have two daughters, Emily and Hilary Leithauser.
She is on the editorial board of the literary magazine The Common
, based at Amherst College
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
, a coeditor of The Norton Anthology of Poetry http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nap/ and a professor in the Writing Seminars program at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
.
Life
Salter was born in Grand Rapids, MichiganGrand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
and was raised in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
and Baltimore, Maryland. She received her B.A. from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1976 and her M.A. from Cambridge University in 1978. In 1976, she participated in the Glascock Prize
Glascock Prize
The Glascock Poetry Prize is awarded to the winner of the annual Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest at Mount Holyoke College...
contest.
While at Harvard, she studied with the noted poet, Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop was an American poet and short-story writer. She was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 1949 to 1950, a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1956 and a National Book Award Winner for Poetry in 1970. Elizabeth Bishop House is an artists' retreat in Great Village, Nova Scotia...
. She has been an editor at the Atlantic Monthly and at The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
.
From 1984 to 2007, she taught at Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
and was, from 1995 to 2007, a vice president of the Poetry Society of America
Poetry Society of America
The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists including Witter Bynner. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the have included such renowned writers as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent...
.
Salter is married to Brad Leithauser
Brad Leithauser
Brad E. Leithauser is an American poet, novelist, essayist, and teacher. After serving as the Emily Dickinson Lecturer in the Humanities at Mount Holyoke College and visiting professor at the MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, he is now on faculty at The...
, a writer, who also teaches at Johns Hopkins University. They have two daughters, Emily and Hilary Leithauser.
She is on the editorial board of the literary magazine The Common
The Common (Magazine)
The Common is a nonprofit biannual magazine based at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. The magazine publishes stories, poems, essays, and images centered around "a modern sense of place." - History :...
, based at Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
.
Books of poetry
- Henry Purcell in Japan, Knopf, 1985, ISBN 9780394536576
- Unfinished Painting, Knopf, 1989, ISBN 9780394574172, Lamont Selection for that year's most distinguished second volume of poetry
- Sunday Skaters, A.A. Knopf, 1994, ISBN 9780679431091, nominated in 19941994 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Allen Ginsberg sells his papers to Stanford University for $1 million.* C. P...
for the National Book Critics Circle Award (Knopf) - A Kiss in Space, Knopf, 1999, ISBN 9780375405310
- Open Shutters, Alfred A. Knopf, 2003, ISBN 9781400040087, named a "notable book of the year" by The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Selected Translations
- The Word Exchange: Anglo-Saxon Poems in Translation (W. W. Norton & Company, 2010)
Articles
Awards
- 19811981 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Jane Greer launched Plains Poetry Journal, an advance guard of the New Formalism movement....
: The Frost PlaceThe Frost PlaceThe Frost Place is a museum and nonprofit educational center for poetry located at Robert Frost's former home in Franconia, New Hampshire, USA....
poet in residence - 19951995 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* February 16 — Announcement that 300 poems by S.T...
–19961996 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* National Poetry Month was established by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996 as way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States.* The movie Dead Man, written and...
: Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling ScholarshipAmy Lowell Poetry Travelling ScholarshipThe Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship is given annually to a U.S.-born poet to spend one year outside North America in a country the recipient feels will most advance his or her work.... - 19891989 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Dead Poets Society, a film incorporating excerpts from many traditional poets, ending with the title and opening line of Walt Whitman's lament on the death of Abraham Lincoln, "O Captain! My...
: Lamont Poetry PrizeJames Laughlin AwardThe James Laughlin Award, formerly the Lamont Poetry Prize, is given annually for a poet's second published book; it is the only major poetry award that honors a second book...
for the year’s most distinguished second volume of poetry - Unfinished Painting - 20032003 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry was opened at Queens University, Belfast, this year. It houses the Heaney Media Archive, a unique record of Heaney's entire oeuvre, as well as a full catalogue of...
: Open Shutters named a "notable book of the year" by The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization... - 20042004 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* April 1 — Foetry.com Web site is launched for the announced purpose of "Exposing fraudulent contests. Tracking the sycophants...
: Meribeth E. Cameron Faculty Award for Scholarship
External links
- Johns Hopkins biography of Salter
- Married Poets Craft Love Poems by the Clock
- Library of Congress National Book Festival biography of Salter
- Blue Flower Arts biography of Salter
- Mount Holyoke College biography of Salter
- Smith College biography of Salter
- Borzoi interview
Poems online
- http://www.blueflowerarts.com/mjsalter.html "Tromp l'Oeil"
- http://www.harmonybooks.com/knopf/authors/salter/poem.html "A Kiss in Space and A Rainbow Over the Seine"