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ScottHightower

Scott Hightower in 2003. Photo by Jose Fernandez. Licensed under Creative Commons, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Scott Hightower (born August 4, 1952) is an American poet and teacher.

Life[]

Family, youth, education[]

Hightower was born in Lampasas, Texas, the 3rd child of a family that lived on a modest working ranch near Lometa, a small town in central Texas. Like many rural American families of that time, it was a family to be met by challenges. His father, Berley Hightower, was a rancher.

The 1st week of August, 1952, Joyce Blauvelt Hightower gave birth to her 3rd child on a Monday. On Wednesday of the same week, she was diagnosed with polio.

Hightower earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Education from Juarez-Lincoln University in Austin (an affiliate of Antioch University), and a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University in New York City.

Career[]

Hightower's poetry reviews often appear in The Journal, Manhattan Review, Coldfront Magazine, and other national journals.

He has been poet in residence at Fordham University. He has taught at at Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) and the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University (NYU). He lives in New York City, where he serves as adjunct faculty at NYU and Drew University.[1]

Hightower is also a political activist. He is an advocate of developed countries stepping away from the death penalty. He is also supportive of basic civil liberties such as access to healthcare and education. He is concerned with biases based on gender, race, and sexual orientation. Hightower likes animals and encourages responsible care. He expresses a specific sympathy on behalf of sanctuaries for butterflies, birds, retired elephants, and horses.

Writing[]

His 1st 3 books, without the lament of victimhood, incorporate the loss of his brother to AIDS and his sister to breast cancer. There are also reflections of their mother's earlier bout with polio. The themes of spirit captured in matter are archetypal and poetically compelling.

Recognition[]

His 3rd collection, Part of the Bargain (Copper Canyon Press, 2005), wwon the Hayden Carruth Award for New and Emerging Poets.[1]

He won a Willis Barnstone Translation Prize for translations of poems by Spanish-Puerto Rican poet Aurora de Albornoz.[1]

Publications[]

Poetry[]

  • Tin Can Tourist. New York: Fordham University Press, 2001.
  • Natural Trouble. New York: Fordham University Press, 2003.
  • Part of the Bargain. Port Townsend, WA: Copper Canyon Press, 2005.
  • Self-Evident. New York: Barrow Street Press, 2012.

in Spanish[]

  • Hontanares (translated by Natalia Carbajosa). Madrid: Devenir, 2012.


Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[2]

See also[]

My_Father_by_Scott_Hightower_Narrated_by_N'dia_johnson

My Father by Scott Hightower Narrated by N'dia johnson

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Scott Hightower, Academy of American Poets, Poets.org. Web, May 13, 2018.
  2. Search results = au:Scott Hightower, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, May 13, 2018.

External links[]

Poems
Books
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