Michael J. Astrue
Encyclopedia
Michael James Astrue is an American lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and, under the pen name A. M. Juster, a poet and critic. He has served as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration
Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration is an independent agency of the United States federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivors' benefits...

 since 2007.

Career

After his secondary education at The Roxbury Latin School, Astrue earned a bachelor's degree from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

, where he served as President of the Yale Political Union
Yale Political Union
The Yale Political Union , a debate society now the largest student organization at Yale University, was founded in 1934 by Professor Alfred Whitney Griswold , to enliven the university's political culture of the time. It was modelled on the Cambridge Union Society and Oxford Union...

, and a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 degree from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

.

Astrue, who previously served in the Social Security Administration as Counselor to the Commissioner, served in the US Department of Health and Human Services as General Counsel and as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Leigislation. He also served as Associate Counsel to the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

 in the Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 and George Bush Sr administrations. In the private sector, he practiced law and was as a senior executive at several biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...

 companies.

Astrue was nominated as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 on September 14, 2006 and confirmed by the US Senate on February 2, 2007. He was sworn in on February 12, 2007 to serve a six-year term.

Poetry

In the June/July 2010 issue of First Things
First Things
First Things is an ecumenical journal focused on creating a "religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society". The journal is inter-denominational and inter-religious, representing a broad intellectual tradition of Christian and Jewish critique of contemporary society...

 magazine, Astrue was profiled by poet Paul Mariani
Paul Mariani
Paul Mariani is an American poet and a professor at Boston College. He grew up on Long Island, the eldest of seven children...

, who revealed him as the personage behind the pseudonym and anagram A. M. Juster, the poet and translator associated with New Formalism
New Formalism
New Formalism is a late-20th and early 21st century movement in American poetry that has promoted a return to metrical and rhymed verse.-Origins and intentions:...

.

As Juster, Astrue has published a book of Petrarch
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...

 translations, a translation of The Satires of Horace (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008) , Longing for Laura (Birch Brook Press, 2001), and a book of original poetry, The Secret Language of Women (University of Evansville 2003). Juster was also the first moderator for Eratosphere
Eratosphere
Eratosphere is the largest online workshop for formal poetry -- it is free to join. Additionally, it caters to free verse, poetry and prose translation, fiction, art, literary criticism and critical discussions on writing. It was founded in 1999 by Alexander Pepple as a workshop complement to Able...

, the largest on-line site for formal poetry.

Awards

  • Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award
    Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award
    The Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award was established in 1994 by The Formalist, a poetry magazine founded by William Baer. The award honors the poet Howard Nemerov, who died in 1991. It is an open competition for sonnets in English that draws about 3000 entries annually. The award itself is $1000...

     three times, most recently in 2008.
  • 2002 Richard Wilbur Award
    Richard Wilbur Award
    The Richard Wilbur Award is named in honor of the distinguished American poet Richard Wilbur and was established at the University of Evansville under the direction of William Baer. The competition welcomes submissions of unpublished, original poetry collections, and public domain or...

    , for The Secret Language of Women selected by Rachel Hadas
    Rachel Hadas
    Rachel Hadas is an American poet, teacher, essayist, and translator. Her most recent essay collection is Classics: Essays , and her most recent poetry collection is The Ache of Appetite . Her honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, Ingram Merrill Foundation Grants, the O.B...


External links

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