Elizabeth "Betsy" Colquitt (1926 – 7 April 2009) was an American

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of English and a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

known for themes and poetic structures which reflect a

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

sensibility. She was born in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1926 and died on 7 April 2009.

Background

Colquitt's

poems Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

essays An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

, and reviews have been widely published in major American literary journals for forty years. Colquitt, née Betsy Ruth Feagan, was born in Fort Worth, Texas where she attended

Paschal High School R. L. Paschal High School is a secondary school in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is part of the Fort Worth Independent School District, and is the oldest and largest high school in Fort Worth ISD. The school is ranked 322nd in Texas and 3, ...

and graduated with honors with a degree in English from

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

in 1947. She attended

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

and studied

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

in a graduate program that included

Allen Tate John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979), known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Among his best known works are the poems " Ode to th ...

and John Crowe Ransom who served as Colquitt's professors and mentors.

James Dickey James Lafayette Dickey (February 2, 1923 January 19, 1997) was an American poet, novelist, critic, and lecturer. He was appointed the 18th United States Poet Laureate in 1966. His other accolades included the National Book Award for Poetry a ...

was a classmate. Colquitt received her M.A. degree from Vanderbilt in 1948. She attended the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

to work on her Ph.D. but left the program in 1953 to return to Fort Worth because her mother had suffered a stroke. Colquitt joined the faculty of the English department at Texas Christian University in 1953 where she taught literature and creative writing until her retirement in 1995. A course she developed on the "Interrelation of the Arts" became a mainstay of the program and a much beloved and influential course among her students. At TCU, she also became the founding editor of the literary journal ''Descant'', which she edited for twenty-five years. The major poetry award offered by ''Descant'' is named in her honor. While at TCU, Colquitt met and married Landon Colquitt, a

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

professor to whom she was married until his death from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in 1991. The Colquitts had two daughters, Kate, a physician, and Clare, a professor at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

. Colquitt's volumes of poetry include ''Honor Card and Other Poems'' (Saurian Press, 1980) and ''Eve: From the Autobiography and Other Poems'' (Texas Christian University Press, 1997). ''Eve'' has been praised for its

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

analyses of

creativity Creativity is the ability to form novel and valuable Idea, ideas or works using one's imagination. Products of creativity may be intangible (e.g. an idea, scientific theory, Literature, literary work, musical composition, or joke), or a physica ...

and of woman's role in the creation, and this volume together with many of Colquitt's other

and

, have led many critics to view Colquitt as a leading woman writer. Critics also praise Colquitt's work for its insights into

cognition Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

and creativity and for its sensitivity to the longings of the

human heart The heart is a muscular organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the tiss ...

for an identity rooted in meaning and purpose. James Ward Lee wrote: "Betsy Colquitt has long been recognized as one of Texas’ finest poets."Eve - from the Autobiography
Texas A&M University. Information on and analyses of Colquitt's works are included in ''Contemporary Authors, Who's Who of American Women, Directory of American Scholars'', and ''World's Who's Who of Women''. She also held memberships in the Texas Institute of Letters and in the American Center for Artists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colquitt, Betsy 1926 births 2009 deaths Writers from Fort Worth, Texas Texas Christian University alumni Vanderbilt University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Texas Christian University faculty American women poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers American women academics