Morton Marcus

For those of a similar name, see Marcus Morton.

Morton Marcus (1936–2009) was an American poet. He also published a novel and a memoir.

Morton Marcus
Photo by Jana Marcus
Born	(1936-09-10)September 10, 1936[1] New York City, New York, United States
Died	October 28, 2009(2009-10-28) (aged 73)[1] Santa Cruz, California, United States
Occupation	Poet
Website	mortonmarcus.com

Biography

Marcus had more than 500 poems published in literary journals across the country, including Poetry (Chicago), TriQuarterly, Ploughshares, Chelsea, The Chicago Review, The Iowa Review, Zyzzyva, Poetry Northwest, and The Denver Quarterly. Four times his work was selected to appear in prize poem annuals (The Borestone Mountain Awards of 1967 and 1975, and the 1985 and 1987 Anthology of Magazine Verse). His work has appeared in over 90 anthologies. He also has served as the poet in residence for several universities, and led workshops at colleges across America. Marcus was also a long time co-host of The Poetry Show on KUSP (a former Santa Cruz public radio station). It was the longest running poetry radio show in the United States.^[2]

Outside of the literary world, Marcus created a sixteen part television review of film Movie Milestones which has been shown on cable networks throughout the United States, along with being the main visual source of film history at AFTRS, the Australian national film school. His film reviews became part of a television show Cinema Scene,^[3] shown in the San Francisco Bay Area, which he co-hosted with Richard von Busack. In addition to writing and reviewing movies, Marcus also taught film and English at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz.

He died of renal cancer on October 28, 2009.^[1]

Legacy

Marcus's poetry archive, working papers, interviews, and correspondence are held in the Special Collections at University of California, Santa Cruz.^[4] The Morton Marcus Memorial Poetry Reading has become an established annual poetry reading series bringing some of the most accomplished poets in the country to Santa Cruz County. This annual event is held in November each year, is free to the public, and is sponsored by UC Santa Cruz, Cabrillo College, Ow Family Properties, Bookshop Santa Cruz, and the family of Morton Marcus.^{[citation needed]}

Bibliography

Morton Marcus published eleven volumes of poetry.

• Origins (6 editions 1969–1974)^[5]
• The Santa Cruz Mountain Poems (3 editions 1972–1992)^[6]
• Where the Oceans Cover Us (1972)^[7]
• Armies Encamped in the Fields Beyond the Unfinished Avenues (1977)^[8]
• Big Winds, Glass Mornings, Shadows Cast by Stars (2 editions 1981–1988)^[9]
• Pages from a Scrapbook of Immigrants (1988)^[10]
• When People Could Fly (1997)^[11]
• Shouting Down the Silence: Verse Poems, 1988–2001 (pub. 2002)^[12]
• Moments Without Names: New & Selected Prose Poems (2002)^[13]
• Pursuing The Dream Bone (2007)^[14]
• The Dark Figure in the Doorway: Last Poems (2010).^[15]

In addition to poetry, Morton Marcus also authored The Brezhnev Memo (1980)^[16] a novel, and Striking Through The Masks: A Literary Memoir (2008).^[17] Marcus also translated the works of Serbian poet Vasko Popa in The Star Wizard's Legacy (2010).^[18]

References

1. "Morton Marcus: Obituary". Santa Cruz Sentinen. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
2. "KUSP.org (archived 2015-02-22)". Archived from the original on 2015-02-22.
3. "Cinema Scene - Home". Archived from the original on 2011-06-27. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
4. "UC Santa Cruz Library Special Collections". Archived from the original on 2017-12-12.
5. Marcus, Morton (June 1973), Origins, Red Hen Press, ISBN 978-0-87711-045-3
6. Marcus, Morton (1972), The Santa Cruz Mountain Poems, Capra Press, ISBN 978-0-912264-46-2
7. Marcus, Morton (1972), Where the Oceans Cover Us, Capra Press, ISBN 978-0-912264-40-0
8. Armies Encamped in the Fields Beyond the Unfinished Avenues (no ISBN issued)
9. Marcus, Morton (1981), Big Winds, Glass Mornings, Shadows Cast by Stars, Jazz Press, ISBN 978-0-937310-06-9
10. Marcus, Morton (1988), Pages from a Scrapbook of Immigrants, Coffee House Press, ISBN 978-0-918273-47-5
11. Marcus, Morton (1997), When People Could Fly, Hanging Loose Press, ISBN 978-1-882413-44-7
12. Marcus, Morton (2002), Shouting Down the Silence: Verse Poems, 1988–2001, Creative Arts Book Company, ISBN 978-0-88739-453-9
13. Marcus, Morton (2002), Moments Without Names: New & Selected Prose Poems, White Pine Press, ISBN 978-1-893996-51-9
14. Marcus, Morton (2007), Pursuing The Dream Bone, Quale Press, ISBN 978-0-9744503-9-1
15. Marcus, Morton (2010), The Dark Figure in the Doorway: Last Poems, White Pine Press, ISBN 978-1-935210-16-0
16. Marcus, Morton (1980), The Brezhnev Memo, ISBN 978-0-440-11034-7
17. Marcus, Morton (2008), Striking Through The Masks: A Literary Memoir, Capitola Books, ISBN 978-0-932319-09-8
18. Popa, Vasko (2010), The Star Wizard's Legacy, White Pine Press, ISBN 978-1-935210-11-5

External links

• Official website