Jon Beck Shank
Jon Beck Shank (1919–1977) was an American Mormon poet and a high school English teacher in New York City.
Biography
[edit]Shank studied at Brigham Young University. While at BYU, Shank collaborated with Davis Bitton on a theatrical production.
Shank was a native of Pennsylvania and a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[1] Shank died in 1977.[2]
In 1945, Shank had a collection of his poems published by Alfred A. Knopf. He later taught high school English in New York City, . Among his students was Roger Rosenblatt, who later wrote an essay praising Mormon artists in which he admitted that this view was largely a result of his association with Shank.[3]
Another of Shank's students was Anne Waldman, who has mentioned him being a scholar of the works of Wallace Stevens.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Leonard J. Arrington and Davis Bitton. The Mormon Experience. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1979) p. 332
- ^ "Jon Beck Shank (1919–1977) - Find a Grave".
- ^ "Three books on visual images in the history of the Church" by Davis Bitton, BYU Studies 36.4. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
- ^ Waldman's autiobiography
Sources
[edit]External links
[edit]- 1919 births
- 1977 deaths
- 20th-century American educators
- 20th-century American male writers
- 20th-century American poets
- 20th-century people from New York (state)
- 20th-century people from Pennsylvania
- American high school teachers
- American male poets
- Brigham Young University alumni
- Converts to Mormonism
- Educators from New York City
- Latter Day Saint poets
- Latter Day Saints from New York (state)
- Latter Day Saints from Pennsylvania
- Poets from New York City
- Schoolteachers from New York (state)
- Schoolteachers from Pennsylvania