Biography
Early Life and Inspirations
On a crisp autumn day in 1942, Ann Lauterbach came into the world in the bustling heart of New York City. Her upbringing was steeped in political fervor, as her parents were deeply entrenched in progressive activism. Her father, a journalist with a keen eye for global affairs, wore dual hats as a Life magazine reporter and the head of Time magazine's Moscow bureau during the tumultuous years of World War II. Tragically, he succumbed to polio when Lauterbach was merely eight, leaving a void filled by her mother's descent into alcoholism. These seismic events in her formative years ignited in Lauterbach a quest for meaning, leading her to seek solace and connection through the realms of poetry and art. She pursued this passion at the High School of Music and Art, graduating in 1960. Her academic journey continued with an English degree from the University of Wisconsin, followed by graduate studies at Columbia University. The vibrant art scene of late 1960s London beckoned her, and it was there she orchestrated a landmark poetry conference spotlighting the illustrious John Ashbery, whose genius left a lasting imprint on her own poetic voice.
Return to New York and Artistic Influence
After immersing herself for seven years in England's cultural tapestry, Lauterbach journeyed back to the United States in 1974. She found herself at the epicenter of artistic innovation in New York's burgeoning Soho district, where she thrived amidst the crosscurrents of creativity shared by artists, poets, and musicians. Her poetry, deeply influenced by the abstract expressionists, mirrored the evocative power of their nonrepresentational canvases. In 1979, she unveiled her debut poetry collection, Many Times, but Then, which earned accolades from discerning critics.
Accolades and Later Works
The 1980s saw Lauterbach graced with three residencies at the esteemed Yaddo writers' community, alongside prestigious accolades such as a Guggenheim Fellowship and grants from the Ingram Merrill Foundation and the New York State Council for the Arts. In 1989, she ascended to the role of Theodore Goodman Professor of Creative Writing at the City University of New York's City College. Her literary brilliance was further recognized in 1993 with a MacArthur Fellowship. Her poetry collections, such as Sacred Weather (1984), Before Recollection (1987), Clamor (1991), and On a Stair (1997), continued to captivate readers. In 2005, she published The Night Sky: Writings on the Poetics of Experience, essays that explored contemporary poetry, originally penned for the American Poetry Review in the late 1990s. That same year, Hum emerged, a poetic anthology inspired by art, music, and the haunting echoes of the September 11 attacks, described by Publishers Weekly as "a chorus of angels."
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