Cynthia Lee Macdonald (February 2, 1928 – August 3, 2015) was an American poet, educator, and psychoanalyst.[1]
Cynthia Macdonald | |
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 Macdonald in 1979 | |
| Born | Cynthia Lee Macdonald February 2, 1928 |
| Died | August 3, 2015 (aged 87) |
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| Alma mater | |
| Notable awards |
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| Children | Jennifer Macdonald |
Life edit
Macdonald was born in Manhattan to screenwriter Leonard Macdonald and his wife Dorothy Kiam Macdonald.[2]
She earned a B.A. in English from Bennington College in 1950 and pursued studies in voice at the Mannes School of Music in 1951-1952.[3] She pursued a career in opera and concert singing from 1953-1966.[4] After changing her focus to poetry, Macdonald received a master's degree in writing and literature from Sarah Lawrence College.[5]
She went on to teach creative writing at Sarah Lawrence University and Johns Hopkins University.[6] She co-founded the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston with fellow poet Stanley Plumly in 1979. She was a member of the English Department at the University of Houston until her retirement in 2004,[7] receiving the Esther Farfel Award for faculty excellence.
Macdonald also worked as a psychoanalyst, having received a certification from the Houston-Galveston Psychoanalytic Institute in 1986. She specialized in working with people who had writer's block.[8]
She was a member of the board of directors of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs.[9]
She wrote the libretto for The Rehearsal (1978), an opera by Thomas Benjamin.
She was the mother of American artist Jennifer Macdonald.
Awards edit
- Three NEA grants (two for poetry and one for a libretto) [citation needed][10][11]
- 1977 National Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters award "for "recognition of the contribution of her poetry", 1977[12]
- 1983 Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry[13]
- 1992 O. B. Hardison, Jr. Poetry Prize[14]
Works edit
- "Discomfiting the Absolute Splendor", Poetry Foundation
- "The Impossible May Be Possible", Ploughshares (Spring 1999)
Books edit
- Amputations: Poems. George Braziller. 1972. ISBN 0-8076-0656-1.
- Transplants: Poems. George Braziller. 1977. ISBN 0-8076-0810-6.
- (W)Holes. NY: Alfred A. Knopf Incorporated. 1980. ISBN 0-394-50852-1.
- Alternate Means of Transport. Knopf. 1985. ISBN 0-394-72968-4.
- Living Wills: New and Selected Poems. Knopf. 1992. ISBN 0-679-74278-6.
- I Can't Remember. Alfred a Knopf Inc. 1997. ISBN 0-679-45457-8.
References edit
- ^ "Cynthia MacDonald - Obituary - New York, NY". New York Times. August 16, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^ Grimes, William (2015-08-24). "Cynthia Macdonald, Poet Known for Humor and Ability to Shock, Dies at 87". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
- ^ "Macdonald, Cynthia 1928- - Dictionary definition of Macdonald, Cynthia 1928- | Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
- ^ "Macdonald, Cynthia 1928- - Dictionary definition of Macdonald, Cynthia 1928- | Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
- ^ Grimes, William (2015-08-24). "Cynthia Macdonald, Poet Known for Humor and Ability to Shock, Dies at 87". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
- ^ Grimes, William (25 August 2015). "Cynthia Macdonald, Poet Known for Humor and Ability to Shock, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- ^ Grimes, William (25 August 2015). "Cynthia Macdonald, Poet Known for Humor and Ability to Shock, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- ^ Grimes, William (25 August 2015). "Cynthia Macdonald, Poet Known for Humor and Ability to Shock, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- ^ "Cynthia MacDonald -- 3rd Annual Literary Festival -- Old Dominion University -- Sept 29-30; Oct 1-2, 1980". odu.edu.
- ^ "Artful Dodge - Original Interviews - Cynthia Macdonald". www3.wooster.edu. Archived from the original on May 30, 2010.
- ^ "NEA Literature Fellowships" (PDF). March 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-11-19. Nothing at website for "Cynthia MacDonald" per search there. Archived July 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Macdonald, Cynthia 1928- - Dictionary definition of Macdonald, Cynthia 1928- | Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
- ^ "Cynthia Macdonald". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- ^ "Cynthia Macdonald-Folger Shakespeare Library". www.folger.edu. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010.
External links edit
- Daniel Bourne (March 30, 1990). "A Conversation With Cynthia Macdonald". Artful Dodge. Archived from the original on September 27, 2008.
- "Cynthia Macdonald." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 18 Nov. 2009