Poetics and Ruminations: Curriculum Vitae, Abbreviated

CURRICULUM VITAE OF LEWIS PUTNAM TURCO (ABBREVIATED)

Born Lewis Putnam Turco in Buffalo, New York, 2 May 1934; attended Meriden, Connecticut, public schools; Suffield Academy (Suffield, Connecticut) 1947-9; Meriden High School, 1949-52, diploma 1952; U.S. Navy, enlisted (Yeoman third class), serving U. S. Naval Training Center, Bainbridge Maryland; Naval Air Technical Training Center, Norman, Oklahoma; U.S.S. Hornet (CVA 12): East Coast ports, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Italy, Portugal, Suez, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Philippines, Japan, Hawaii, West Coast ports; Bureau of Naval Personnel, Arlington, Virginia, 1952-6; U.S. Naval Reserve (inactive), 1956-60; Honorable Discharge, 1960; married Jean Cate Houdlette, 1956; two children, Melora Ann, born 1960, & Christopher Cameron, born 1973.

ACADEMIC AND HONORARY DEGREES

A.H.D. (Hon.), Unity College in Maine, 2012.

L.H.D. (Hon.), University of Maine at Fort Kent, 2009.

L.H.D. (Hon.), Ashland University, 2000.

M.A. in English and Creative Writing, University of Iowa, 1962; thesis: Summer's Raceway: A Collection of Poems; chairman: Paul Engle.

B.A. in English, University of Connecticut, 1959.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Graduate assistant and part-time Instructor of English, University of Connecticut, Storrs, spring 1959;

Editorial assistant, Writers' Workshop, University of Iowa, Iowa City, 1959-60;

Instructor of English, Fenn College (Cleveland State University), 1960-4, and founding Director, Poetry Center of Cleveland, 1962-4;

Assistant Professor of English, Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan, 1964-5, and Director, Conference of Midwestern Poets, summer 1965;

Assistant Professor of English, State University of New York College at Oswego, 1965-8; Associate Professor, 1968-71; Professor, 1971-1996; founding Director, Program in Writing Arts, 1968-95; Poet-in-Residence since 1995 and Professor Emeritus, since 1996.

Visiting Professor of English, State University of New York College at Potsdam, 1968-9;

Bingham Poet in Residence, University of Louisville, spring 1982;

Writer in Residence, Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio, spring 1991.

Staff member of various writers' conferences since 1959, including University of New Hampshire Writers' Conference; Bread Loaf Writers' Conference at Middlebury Coll.; New England Poets' Conference at Harvard University, S.U.N.Y. Writers' Festivals, State of Maine Writers' Conference at Ocean Park, 1963, 1987, 88, 89, 90, 91, 99; Philadelphia Writer’s Conference, 1992, Chautauqua, 1998, West Chester University Poetry Conference, 1995, 2004, 2009.

SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS, AND HONORS

Meriden Record-Journal Publishing. Co. Scholarships, U. Conn., 1957-8 & 58-9.

First place, U. Conn. Undergraduate Play Competition for “An Onyx Dream,” 1959;

Honorable Mention for the same play, Waldo Bellow Memorial Award Playwriting Competition of the YM/YWHA of Philadelphia Arts Council, 1959.

Resident Fellowship in poetry writing, Yaddo Foundation, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., summer of 1959.

Graduate Fellowship, Writers' Workshop, U. Iowa, 1959-60.

Academy of American Poets Prize, Writers' Workshop, U. Iowa, 1960.

Bread Loaf Poetry Fellowship, Middlebury Coll., summer 1961.

American Weave Press Chapbook Award for The Sketches, 1962.

Faculty Fellowship, Research Foundation of S.U.N.Y., 1966.

Faculty Fellowship, Research Foundation of S.U.N.Y., 1967.

First prize for “Scot on the Rocks,” Davidson Miscellany (Davidson Coll.) Fiction Contest, 1969.

Faculty Fellowship, Research Foundation of S.U.N.Y. 1969.

Grant-in-aid, Research Foundation of S.U.N.Y. 1969.

Faculty Fellowship, Research Foundation of S.U.N.Y., 1971.

Helen Bullis Prize, Poetry Northwest (U. Washington, Seattle), 1972.

Faculty Fellowship, Research Foundation of S.U.N.Y., 1973.

Resident Fellowship in fiction writing, Yaddo Foundation, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., summer of 1977.

Faculty Fellowship, Research Foundation of S.U.N.Y., 1978.

Awardist for “Vincent,” NEA/PEN Syndicated Fiction Project, 1983; judge: Russell Baker.

Kansas Quarterly/Kansas Arts Commission First Poetry Award 1984-5 for "Letter to a Hall-of-Famer," (a poem published under the pseudonym "Wesli Court"); judge: Marilyn Hacker.

State University of New York College at Oswego President's Award for Scholarly and Creative Activity and Research, 1985.

Chicago Book Clinic Exhibit Certificate of Award for The Compleat Melancholick, 1986.

Selection of The Compleat Melancholick for inclusion in the National Endowment for the Arts' New American Writing Exhibits, International Book Fairs of Frankfurt and Liber, 1986.

Melville Cane Award of the Poetry Society of America for "the best prose book about poetry published in 1985-6," Visions and Revisions of American Poetry, 1986; judge: Donald Davie.

Winner, Silverfish Review Chapbook Competition (Eugene, OR), for A Family Album, 1989; judge: Rodger Moody, editor and publisher.

First Place, Cooper House Chapbook Competition (Oklahoma City, OK), for Murmurs in the Walls, 1990; judges: editors of Poet Magazine.

Selected as a participant in the New York Council for the Humanities "Speakers in the Humanities Program," 1992-95.

Distinguished Alumnus Award, Alumni Association of the University of Connecticut, 1992.

Induction into the Meriden, Connecticut, Hall of Fame, 1993.

Faculty Enhancement Grant for developing and field-testing a draft version of The Book of Literary Terms, Scholarly and Creative Activities Committee of S.U.N.Y. at Oswego, 1995.

Winner, First Annual Bordighera Bi-lingual Poetry Prize for A Book of Fears, 1997, with translator, Joseph Alessia; judge: Felix Stefanile.

Recipient, Second Annual John Ciardi Award for Lifetime Achievement in Poetry, 1999; sponsor: the National Italian American Foundation; administrator: Italian Americana.

Choice “Outstanding academic title” for 2000: The Book of Literary Terms, 2000.

Recipient, Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Ashland U., Ashland, Ohio, 2000.

Second Prize for “Carousel Mall,” Millennium Fiction Contest, Edge City Review, 2002.

Co-winner of the Gretchen Warren Award of the New England Poetry Club for the best poem published by a member in the previous year; the judge was Rhina Espaillat who chose “Herb Plays with the Blues” from The Formalist, 13:1, 2002, pp. 105-106.

Honoree, “The Achievement of Lewis Turco,” Tenth Annual West Chester University Poetry Conference, 2004.

Recipient, Robert Fitzgerald Prosody Award, Fourteenth Annual West Chester University Poetry Conference, 2008.

Recipient, Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, University of Maine at Fort Kent, 2009.

Winner of the Wild Card Category, 2009 New England Book Festival, for Satan’s Scourge, A Narrative of the Age of Witchcraft in England and New England 1580-1697.

Recipient, Honorary Doctorate of Arts and Humanities, Unity College in Maine, 2012.

BOOK PUBLICATIONS

55. Dialects of the Tribe: Postmodern American Poets and Poetry, by Lewis Putnam Turco, Nacogdoches, TX: Stephen F. Austin State University Press, www.SFASU.edu/sfapress/, 2012, 336 pp., paperback,

54. Wesli Court’s Epitaphs for the Poets, by Lewis Turco, Baltimore, MD: BrickHouse Books, (www.BrickHouseBooks.com) 2012, paperback, ISBN: 978-1-938144-01-1.

53. Satan’s Scourge: A Narrative of the Age of Witchcraft in England and America 1580-1697 e-book edition, by Lewis Putnam Turco, Scottsdale, AZ: www.StarCloudPress.com, Kindle edition, 2012, 808 pp. Winner of the Wild Card category of the 2009 New England Book Festival,

52. The Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics, Including Odd and Invented Forms, Revised and Expanded Edition by Lewis Putnam Turco, Hanover, NH: University Press of New England (www.UPNE.com) , 2012 • 384 pp. 3 illus. 5 x 7 1/2" Reference & Bibliography / Poetry 978-1-61168-035-5, paperback.

51. The Gathering of the Elders and Other Poems by “Wesli Court,” a.k.a. Lewis Turco, Scottsdale, AZ: www.StarCloudPress.com, 2010, ISBN 978-1-932842-43-2, trade paperback, 115 pp..

50. Attic, Shed, and Barn by Lewis Turco, Tokyo: Ahadada Books, 2009, 28 pp., free, downloadable, on-line e-chapbook.

49. La Famiglia: The Family, Memoirs, by Lewis Turco, New York, NY: www.BordigheraPress.org, 2009, VIA Folios 57, 196 pp., ISBN 978-1-59954-006-1, trade paperback.

48. Satan's Scourge: A Narrative of the Age of Witchcraft in England and New England 1580-1697 by Lewis Putnam Turco, Scottsdale, AZ: StarCloudPress.com, 2009, 808 pages, ISBN 978-1-932827, jacketed cloth; ISBN 978-1-932842-26-5; trade paperback; e-book edition.

47. The Museum of Ordinary People and Other Stories by Lewis Turco, Scottsdale, AZ: StarCloudPress.com, 2008, 196 pp., ISBN 978-1-932842-1-66, trade paperback.

46. Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, Scottsdale, AZ: www.StarCloudPress.com, 2007. ISBN 978-1-932842-19-7, cloth; ISBN 978-1-932842-20-3, paper.

45. Fantaseers: A Book of Memories, by Lewis Turco, Scottsdale, AZ: StarCloudPress.com, 2005, 196 pp., ISBN 1-932842-15-2, paper.

44. A Sheaf of Leaves: Literary Memoirs by Lewis Turco, Scottsdale, AZ: www.StarCloudPress.com, 2004, 457 pp., ISBN 0-965183-56-4, cloth; ISBN 0-965183-54-8, paper.

43. The Collected Lyrics of Lewis Turco / Wesli Court 1953-2004, Scottsdale, AZ: www.StarCloudPress.com, 2004, 460 pp., ISBN 1-932842-00-4, jacketed cloth; ISBN 1-932842-01-2, trade paperback.

42. The Book of Dialogue: How to Write Effective Conversation in Fiction, Screenplays, Drama, and Poetry by Lewis Turco, Hanover: University Press of New England, (www.UPNE.com), 2004. ISBN 1-584653-61-2, paper. A companion volume to The Book of Forms and The Book of Literary Terms.

41. The Green Maces of Autumn: Voices in an Old Maine House, Dresden, ME 04342-0161: Mathom Bookshop, 2002. ISBN 0972271007, paper, available from the author. Poems in this volume won both the Cooper House chapbook competition and the Silverfish Review chapbook award. all poems are collected in Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v.

40. The Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics, Third Edition, Hanover: University Press of New England, 2000. ISBN 1584650419, cloth; ISBN 1584650222, paper. A companion volume to The Book of Dialogue and The Book of Literary Terms. “The Poet’s Bible."

39. The Book of Literary Terms: The Genres of Fiction, Drama, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, and Scholarship, Hanover: University Press of New England (www.UPNE.com), 1999. ISBN 0874519543, cloth; ISBN 0-874519-55-1, paper. A companion volume to The Book of Dialogue and The Book of Forms. A Choice “Outstanding academic title” for 2000.

38. A Book of Fears: Un Libro Di Fobie with Italian Translations by Joseph Alessia (Bordighera Poetry Prize, 1), W. Lafayette, IN: BordigheraPress.edu, 1998, 58 pp., ISBN 1884419194, cloth; ISBN 1884419208, paper. all poems are collected in Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v. Bordighera Bilingual Poetry Prize of the Sonia Raiziss-Giop Foundation.

37. Shaking the Family Tree: A Remembrance (Via Folios) by Lewis Turco, West Lafayette, IN: BordigheraPress.edu, 1998, ISBN 188441916X, trade paperback.

34. How to Write a Mi££ion, with Ansen Dibell and Orson Scott Card, London: Robinson Publishing, 1995. ISBN 1854873679, paper.

33. Emily Dickinson, Woman of Letters: Poems and Centos from Lines in Emily Dickinson's Letters Together with Essays on the Subject by Various Hands, edited with an introduction by Lewis Turco, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press (www.SUNYPress.edu), 1993. ISBN 0-791414-17-5, cloth; ISBN 0-791414-18-3, paper. All poems are collected in Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v.

32. Legends of the Mists by Lewis Turco, Kew Gardens: New Spirit Press, 1993, wrappers. All poems gathered in The Collected Lyrics of Lewis Turco / Wesli Court, 1953-2004, q.v.

31. Il Dialogo, Italian translation by Sylvia Biasi of Dialogue by Lewis Turco, q.v., Milan, Italy: Casa Editrice Nord (www.editricenord.it) 1992. Paper.

30. Murmurs in the Walls by Lewis Turco, Oklahoma City: Cooper House, 1992. ISBN 0939121018, paper, O-P. All poems are collected in both The Green Maces of Autumn: Voices in an Old Maine House and Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v. Winner, Cooper House Chapbook Competition.

29. The Public Poet: Five Lectures on the Art and Craft of Poetry by Lewis Turco, Ashland, OH: Ashland Poetry Press (www.ashland.edu/aupoetry/), 1991. ISBN 0-912592-30-3, paper.

28. A Family Album by Lewis Turco, Eugene: Silverfish Review, 1990. ISBN 1878851004, wrappers, O-P. All poems are collected in both The Green Maces of Autumn: Voices in an Old Maine House and Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v. Silverfish Review Chapbook Award.

27. Dialogue: A Socratic Dialogue on the Art of Writing Dialogue in Fiction by Lewis Turco, Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, 1989, ISBN 0898793491, hardbound. Expanded edition: The Book of Dialogue, q.v.

26. Dialogue by Lewis Turco, British edition, London: Robinson Publishing, 1989; paper, ISBN 0898799473. Collected in How to Write a Mi££ion.

25. The Shifting Web: New and Selected Poems by Lewis Turco, Fayetteville, AK: University of Arkansas Press, 1989, ISBN 1557280908, cloth, ISBN 1557280916, pape. Most poems are collected in Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v.

23. The Fog: Chamber Opera in One Act commissioned by the Twents Conservatorium, Enschede, Holland; music by Walter Hekster ([email protected]),.libretto by Lewis Turco, Amsterdam, NL: Donemus, (www.Donemus.nl), 1987. Folio, paper.

22. Visions and Revisions of American Poetry by Lewis Putnam Turco, Fayetteville, AK: University of Arkansas Press, 1986, 178 pp., ISBN 0938626493, cloth; ISBN 0938626507, paper. Melville Cane Award of the Poetry Society of America.

21. A Maze of Monsters by Lewis Turco, Livingston: Livingston University Press, 1986. Wrappers. O-P. All poems are collected in Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v.

20. The New Book of Forms, A Handbook of Poetics (second edition of The Book of Forms), Hanover: University Press of New England, 1986 (www.UPNE.com), ISBN 0874513804, cloth; 0874513812, paper. O-P. All material available in The Book of Forms, Fourth Edition, q.v.

19. The Compleat Melancholick: Being a Sequence of 'Found, Composite, and Composed' Poems, Based Largely Upon Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy, Minneapolis, MN: Bieler Press, 1985, 67 pp. ISBN 0-931460=12-3. signed, limited fine cloth edition; ISBN 0-931-460-15-8, paper. Chicago Book Clinic Exhibit Certificate of Award, 1986; Selected for inclusion in the National Endowment for the Arts' New American Writing Exhibits, International Book Fairs of Frankfurt and Liber,1986. All poems are collected in Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v.

18. American Still Lifes by Lewis Turco, cover design and illustrations by George O’Connell, Oswego, NY: Mathom Publishing Company, 1981. ISBN 0930000177, signed, limited hardbound edition; 0930000187, paper. All poems are collected in Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v.

17. The Airs of Wales, (by "Wesli Court," pseud.), Philadelphia: Poetry Newsletter of Temple University, 1981. Staplebound pamphlet. All poems collected in The Collected Lyrics of Lewis Turco / Wesli Court 1953-2004, q.v.

16. Seasons of the Blood: Poems on the Tarot by Lewis Turco, Rochester, NY: Mammoth Press, 1980, Wrappers. All poems are collected in Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v.

15. A Cage of Creatures, Potsdam: Banjo Press, 1978. ISBN 0918092086, wrappers. All poems are collected in Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v.

14. Curses and Laments (by "Wesli Court," pseud.), Stevens Point: Song Magazine, 1978. Paper. Most poems collected in The Collected Lyrics of Lewis Turco / Wesli Court, 1953-2004, q.v.

13. Murgatroyd and Mabel (by "Wesli Court," pseud.), with color illustrations by "Robert Michaels" (Robert Sullins), Oswego, NY: Mathom Publishing Company, 1978. ISBN 0930000064, washable wrappers.

12. Courses in Lambents: Poems, (by "Wesli Court," pseud.), Oswego, NY: Mathom Publishing Company, 1977. Limited cloth edition signed by both author and illustrator; cloth, trade edition; paperback edition. Most poems gathered in The Collected Lyrics of Lewis Turco / Wesli Court, 1953-2004, q.v.

11. Freshman Composition and Literature, Albany: State University of New York Office of Continuing Education, 1974, spiralbound paper.

10. Poetry: An Introduction Through Writing. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing Co., 1973. ISBN 0879096373, paper. O-P but available from ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U. S. Department of Education.

9. The Weed Garden, Orangeburg: Peaceweed Press, 1973. Wrappers. All poems collected in Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v.

8. Pocoangelini: A Fantography & Other Poems, Northampton: Despa Press, 1971. Paper. Most poems collected in The Collected Lyrics of Lewis Turco / Wesli Court, 1953-2004, q.v.

7. The Literature of New York: A Selective Bibliography of Colonial and Native New York State Authors, Oneonta: New York State English Council, 1970. Paper.

6. The Inhabitant, poems, with prints by Thom. Seawell, Northampton: Despa Press, 1970. Paper. All poems are collected in Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v.

5. Creative Writing in Poetry, Albany: State University of New York Office of Continuing Education, 1970. Spiralbound paper. O-P.

4. The Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics, first edition, by Lewis Turco, New York, NY: E. P. Dutton, 1968. Paper. O-P. All material available in the expanded Fourth Edition, q.v.

3. Awaken, Bells Falling: Poems 1959-1967, by Lewis Turco, Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1968. Paper. All poems are collected in Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v.

2. The Sketches of Lewis Turco and Livevil: A Mask, Cleveland, OH: American Weave Press, 1962. Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems of Lewis Turco 1959-2007, q.v. American Weave Award Chapbook.

1. First Poems by Lewis Turco, Francestown, NH: Golden Quill Press, 1960, Cloth. Most poems gathered in The Collected Lyrics of Lewis Turco / Wesli Court, 1953-2004, q.v.

EDITIONS

The Life and Poetry of Manoah Bodman, Bard of the Berkshires, edited, with an introduction, by Lewis Turco, Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1999. ISBN 0-761813-24-1, cloth, 99 pp.

The Spiritual Autobiography of Luigi Turco, edited, with an introduction, Ann Arbor: University Microfilms Books, 1969.

ABOUT LEWIS TURCO

Steven E. Swerdfeger, Editor, Lewis Turco and His Work: A Celebration, Scottsdale, AZ: www.StarCloudPress.com, 2004, 243 pp., ISBN 0-965183-59-9, cloth.