Anthony "Tony" S. Abbott was an American college professor and writer. He taught at

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

for over 41 years. He received the North Carolina Award for Literature in 2015, the highest award bestowed to a civilian by the State of North Carolina. In November 2018, the Town of Davison, North Carolina awarded him the G. Jackson Burney Community Service Award. In 2020, he was inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame.

Early life and education

Abbott was born on January 7, 1935, in San Francisco, California. He graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1957, and received a masters (1960) and doctorate (1962) degree at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Career

He taught at

Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...

from 1961 to 1964. In 1964, he started teaching English at Davidson College and eventually became the Charles A. Dana Professor of English Emeritus. Davidson College recognized him with the Thomas Jefferson Award in 1969 and the Hunter-Hamilton Love of Teaching Award in 1997. He authored two novels and six books of poetry. The book of poetry ''The Girl in the Yellow Raincoat'' received a Pulitzer Prize nomination. He was the recipient of the

Sam Ragan Awards The Sam Ragan Awards are an annual fine arts award presented by St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, North Carolina. The award honors Sam Ragan Samuel Talmadge Ragan (December 31, 1915 – May 11, 1996)Representative Eva Clayton of North Ca ...

in 1996 and the Brockman-Campbell Award from the North Carolina Poetry Society in 2012. He served as the President of the North Carolina Writers Network and the Chairmen of the North Carolina Writers Conference."Professor to speak at poets' meeting"
''

Rocky Mount Telegram The ''Rocky Mount Telegram'' is an American, English language daily newspaper based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. History In the summer of 1996, Thomson Newspapers traded the ''Telegram'' to Cox Newspapers in exchange for six newspapers in Arizo ...

'', volume 90, number 319, August 31, 2000, page 5B.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Anthony S. 1935 births 2020 deaths Bates College faculty Davidson College faculty Poets from North Carolina Princeton University alumni Writers from San Francisco Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni