M.B. McLatchey
M.B. McLatchey is a widely-published poet and writer with a lifelong passion for
literature, philosophy, ancient and modern languages, and the art of teaching. A recipient of several teaching and literary awards, including Harvard's Danforth Prize for Teaching, the American Poet Prize from the American Poetry Journal, the 2013 May Swenson Award for her debut poetry collection, The Lame God (Utah State Univ. Press) and Finalist in the Women’s Voices Competition for her book Advantages of Believing (Finishing Line Press), she is currently serving as one of Florida’s Poet Laureates for Volusia County and as Arts & Wellness Ambassador for the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. In 2017, she was featured by the Association of Writers & Writing Programs in their Spotlight for Writers-to-Watch.
M.B.'s upcoming book, Beginner's Mind, is scheduled for release by Regal House Publishing in 2021. It explores the question, "How do we want teachers to educate our children?"
M.B. earned her graduate degree in Comparative Literature at Harvard University, her Master of Art in Teaching at Brown University, her B.A. from Williams College, and an MFA in Poetry from Goddard College. She lives with her husband on the Atlantic coast of Florida and is Professor of Classics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Works
The Lame God (Utah State University Press)
Winner of 2013 May Swenson Poetry Award
Let me warn the reader: It takes courage to read this book. This heartbreaking sequence of poems on the abduction of a daughter hit me like a ton of bricks, and I had to put it aside several times. But what courage it took to write it! Though there are many poems on grief, and even on crime—websites are devoted to them—I have never come across a book of poetry like this before.
It is a hard fact that, to the artist, everything is material. We grit our teeth and use even the most personal catastrophes—our own and those of others—to make art. This is what the Classical authors did, and this is what M. B. McLatchey has done with her great subject in this book. The effect is powerful, and ultimately, The Lame God proves that if our traumatic experiences don’t destroy us, they can produce masterful works, in which human nature rises to its heights.
— From the foreword by Edward Field, American poet and essayist, and judge for the 2013 May Swenson Award
Advantages of Believing
Awards and Recognition
- American Poet Prize (American Poetry Journal); May Swenson Award for The Lame God (Utah State Univ. Press); Annie Finch Prize; Editor's Prizes, FOLIO Journal and Spoon River Poetry Journal; Vachel Lindsay Award, Robert Frost Award.
Press and Media Mentions
Location
New Smyrna Beach, FL
Author Contact
Category
Poetry, General Non-Fiction, Essays