William Seaton

Poet

Author's Bio

William Seaton is a poet, translator, and critic, the author of Planetary MotionsSpoor of Desire: Selected Poems, Dada Poetry: An Introduction, Tourist Snapshots, and Cold Water.    Active in poetry performance since sixties happenings, he was a member of the San Francisco Cloud House group in the seventies and produced the Words in the Air television show in the eighties and the Poetry on the Loose series in the Hudson Valley for twenty-one years.   He was director of the Northeast Poetry Center for five years and worked on programs of the Seligmann Center for the Arts for seven years, including producing evenings of performance art.  His poetry, influenced by Ezra Pound, Kenneth Rexroth, and Paul Blackburn, shows rare concern for sound values.    

Seaton was educated at the University of Illinois and the University of Iowa.  He has taught in rural Nigeria, in New York prisons, and in Bedford-Stuyvesant as well as in universities. 

Publications & Prizes

Anthologies:
Liberty's Vigil (Foothills Publishing, 2012)
,
Liberty's Vigil, the Occupy Anthology (Foothills Publishing, 2012)
,
WaterWrites: A Hudson River Anthology (Codhill Press, 2009)
,
CAPS Voices (Howland Cultural Center, 2007)
,
Hudson Valley Poets Fest 2007 (Century House Historical Society, 2007)
,
Riverine: An Anthology of Hudson Valley Writers (Codhill Press, 2007)
,
Will Work for Peace (Zeropanik Press, 2007)
Books:
Planetary Motions (Giant Steps Press, 2020)
,
Dada Poetry: An Introduction (Nirala Publications, 2012)
,
Spoor of Desire: Selected Poems (Foothills Publishing, 2008)
,
Tourist Snapshots (C.C. Marimbo, 2007)
Journals:
4x4
,
Artspace
,
Chelsea
,
Chronogram
,
Edison Literary Review
,
Fertile Ground
,
Gander Press Review
,
Heaven Bone
,
Home Planet News
,
Mad Blood
,
Maintenant
,
other
,
Poetry Bay
,
Wordsmith
Prizes won: 

nine NYSCA Decentralization grants, two Orange County Tourism Arts grants, Ada Louise Ballard Fellowship in the Humanities, Helen Fairall Scholarship Award in Comparative Literature, Sims Riddle Fund travel grants, Pushcart nominations in both poetry and essay, Orange County Arts Council Champaion of the Arts Award

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
European American
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Fluent in: 
German, Greek
Born in: 
Sioux City, IA
Iowa
Raised in: 
Glen Ellyn, IL
Illinois
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Mar 22, 2023