Thomas Godfrey Lowenstein (15 August 1941 – 21 March 2025) was an English poet, ethnographer, teacher, cultural historian and translator. Beginning his working life as a school teacher, he visited
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
in 1973 and went on to become particularly noted for his work on
Inupiaq (north Alaskan Eskimo) ethnography, conducting research in
Point Hope, Alaska, between 1973 and 1988. His writing also encompasses several collections of poetry, as well as books related to
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
. From 1986, Lowenstein lived and continued teaching in London.
["Bio"]
Tom Lowenstein website.
Life and career
Thomas Godfrey Lowenstein was born on 15 August 1941
near London, England. He went to
Leighton Park School
Leighton Park School is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading, Berkshire, Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, having ...
, then studied at
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...
, where he earned an M.A. degree in 1965 (and was briefly editor of the university magazine ''
Granta
''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...
''), and the
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...
School of Education (Cert. Ed., 1966).
After university, Lowenstein taught in secondary schools in London (1966–1971), then for three years taught literature and creative writing in the United States at
Northwestern University
Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
,
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...
.
In 1973, he worked for the
Alaska State Museum
The Alaska State Museum is a museum in Juneau, Alaska, United States. The museum's collections include cultural materials from the people of the Northwest Coast ( Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian), the Athabascan cultures of Interior Alaska, the In ...
, and went on to live on and off (between 1975 and 1988) in the Alaskan village of
Point Hope, recording and translating the local history and legends.
He was awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
in 1979 in the field of Folklore and Popular Culture. Other awards for Lowenstein's research came from Northwestern University, the
Nuffield Foundation
The Nuffield Foundation is a charitable trust established in 1943 by William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the founder of Morris Motors Ltd. It aims to improve social well-being by funding research and innovation projects in education and social pol ...
, the
Society of Authors
The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. Membership of the society is open to "anyon ...
, the
British Academy
The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...
, 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
Leverhulme Trust
The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to cover ...
, the
Arctic Institute of North America,
The American Philosophical Society, Alaska Humanities Forum, and
North Slope Borough, Alaska
The North Slope Borough is the northernmost borough in the US state of Alaska and, thus, the northernmost county or equivalent of the United States as a whole. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,031. The borough seat and largest cit ...
.
He subsequently (1981–1990) followed up an interest in
Buddhist literature
Buddhist texts are religious texts that belong to, or are associated with, Buddhism and Schools of Buddhism, its traditions. There is no single textual collection for all of Buddhism. Instead, there are three main Buddhist Canons: the Pāli C ...
by studying
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
and
Pali
Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...
at
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
,
SOAS University of London
The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...
and the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
.
Lowenstein also wrote texts for music collaborations, including with the composer
Ed Hughes ''Sun, Moon and Women Shouting'' (1999) and ''The Sybil of Cumae'' (2001), and the libretto for Rachel Stott's oratorio ''Companion of Angels'' on the lives of
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
and
Catherine Blake
Catherine Blake (née Boucher; 25 April 1762 – 18 October 1831) was the wife of the poet, painter, and engraver William Blake, and a vital presence and assistant throughout his life.
Life
Catherine was the last child of market gardener Will ...
.
His poetry collections include ''The Death of Mrs Owl'' (1975), ''Filibustering in Samsara'' (1987), ''Ancient Land: Sacred Whale'' (1993), ''Ancestors and Species: New & Selected Ethnographic Poetry'' (2005) and ''Conversation with Murasaki'' (2009). He was also a regular contributor to publications including ''
London Review of Books
The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews.
History
The ''London Review of Book ...
'' and ''
The Fortnightly Review
''The Fortnightly Review'' was one of the most prominent and influential magazines in nineteenth-century England. It was founded in 1865 by Anthony Trollope, Frederic Harrison, Edward Spencer Beesly, and six others with an investment of £9,000 ...
''.
Lowenstein died on 21 March 2025, at the age of 83.
Selected bibliography
Poetry
* ''Our After-fate'', Softy Loudly Books, 1971
* ''Eskimo Poems from Canada and Greenland'' (translation), London:
Allison & Busby
Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher.
Background
Launching as a publishing company in Ma ...
, 1973;
University of Pittsburgh Press
The University of Pittsburgh Press is a scholarly publishing house and a major American university press, part of the University of Pittsburgh. The university and the press are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States.
The press ...
, 1973
* ''The Death of Mrs Owl'', London:
Anvil Press Poetry, 1975.
"The Death of Mrs. Owl"
at Carcanet.
* ''Booster – A Game of Divination'', London: Many Press, 1975
* ''La Tempesta’s X-ray'', Many Press, 1988
* ''Filibustering in Samsara'', Many Press, 1987
* ''Ancient Land: Sacred Whale'', Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
, Farrar Straus and Giroux, Harvill Press.
* ''Ancestors and Species'', Shearsman Books, 2005
* ''Conversation with Murasaki'', Shearsman Books, 2009
* ''From Culbone Wood – in Xanadu: Notebooks and Fanasias'', Shearsman Books, 2013
* ''The Bridge at Uji'', Shearsman Books, 2022.
Works on North-west Alaska
* ''Stories from Point Hope'', Alaska State Museum, Juneau
Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...
, 1973
* ''Sea Ice Subsistence at Point Hope, Alaska'', North Slope Borough, 1980
* ''The Shaman Aningatchaq'', translation & commentary, Many Press, London, 1982
* ''The Things That Were Said of Them: Oral Histories from Point Hope'', University of California Press / Douglas & McIntyre, 1990
* ''Ancient Land: Sacred Whale, prose and poetry'', Bloomsbury, Harvill Press, Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1993 and 2001.
* ''Ultimate Americans: Point Hope, Alaska 1826–1909'', University of Alaska Press, 2009
Buddhist-related works
* ''The Vision of the Buddha: Buddhism — The Path to Spiritual Enlightenment'', Duncan Baird Publishers /Macmillan, 1996,
* ''Treasures of the Buddha'', Duncan Baird Publishers, 2006
* ''Classic Haiku'', Duncan Baird Publishers, 2007
References
External links
Official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowenstein, Tom
1941 births
2025 deaths
20th-century English poets
21st-century English poets
Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
Alumni of SOAS University of London
Alumni of the University of Leicester
British Buddhists
British scholars of Buddhism
English male non-fiction writers
University of Washington alumni