Doug Anderson (born 1943) is an American

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 ...

, fiction writer, and memoirist. His most recent book is Horse Medicine (Barrow Street Books). He has written a memoir, ''Keep Your Head Down: Vietnam, the Sixties, and a Journey of Self-Discovery'' (W.W. Norton, 2009). His honors include grants and fellowships from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, the Massachusetts Artists Foundation, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, ''Poets & Writers,'' and the

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDo ...

. His work has appeared in ''Ploughshares'', the ''Connecticut Review, The Massachusetts Review, Virginia Quarterly, The Southern Review, Field,''''The Lumber Yard Journal'' > 1.5, November 2005 > Doug Anderson (contributor notes)
and ''The Autumn House Anthology of American Poetry'', as well as this year's ''Contemporary American War Poetry.'' He also published a play, ''Short Timers,'' which was produced in New York in 1981. He served in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

as a corpsman with a Marine infantry battalion in 1967. He graduated from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

. He worked in the theater, as an actor. He then settled in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...

, where he began to write plays and poems in a workshop with

Jack Gilbert Jack Gilbert (February 18, 1925 – November 13, 2012) was an American poet. Gilbert was acquainted with Jack Spicer and Allen Ginsberg, both prominent figureheads of the Beat Movement, but is not considered a Beat Poet; he described himself a ...

, and

Linda Gregg Linda Alouise Gregg (September 9, 1942 – March 20, 2019) was an American poet. Biography Gregg was born in Suffern, New York. She grew up on the other side of the country, in Marin County, California. Gregg received both her Bachelor of Arts, ...

. Anderson taught at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

Eastern Connecticut State University Eastern Connecticut State University (Eastern, Eastern Connecticut, Eastern Connecticut State, or ECSU) is a public university in Willimantic, Connecticut. Founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest campus in the Connecticut State University Syste ...

, the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Its Social Consequences,

Mount Wachusett Community College Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) is a Public college, public community college in Gardner, Massachusetts. Established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1963, it features an open admissions policy for the majority of its academic ...

and at a Massachusetts state prison. He is completing a book called ''Loose Cantos''. In 2010, he began teaching in the

Pacific University Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Tualatin Academy, the original Forest Grove campus is west of Portland. Affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the school mainta ...

of Oregon MFA Program. He is currently a lecturer in the Institute of Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies at Emerson College, Boston.

Honors and awards

* Pushcart Prize * NEA grant * Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship * 1995

Kate Tufts Discovery Award The Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards are a pair of American prizes based at Claremont Graduate University. They are given to poets for their collections of poetry written in the English language, by a citizen or legal resident alien of the U ...

for ''The Moon Reflected Fire''

Published works

Full-length poetry collections * * * Chapbooks * ''Cry Wolf'' (Azul Editions) Anthology publications * * * Memoir * Keep Your Head Down: Vietnam, The Sixties, and a Journey of Self-Discovery

Reviews

Joyce Peseroff writes that ''The Moon Reflected Fire'' is “not just about Vietnam but resonant with the history of warriors from the backyard to the

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

to the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. ''Blues for Unemployed Secret Police'', was praised by ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

'' for its “powerful, funny-horrific, brutal-tender poems.”

References

External links

Biography & Poems: The Poetry Center at Smith College > Featured Reader > Doug Anderson

* Essay: * ttp://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=182360 Poem: The Poetry Foundation > ''Letter to Martín Espada'' by Doug Anderson* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Doug 1943 births Living people Poets from Massachusetts University of Arizona alumni University of Connecticut faculty United States Navy corpsmen United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War Eastern Connecticut State University people Pacific University faculty Emerson College faculty