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Ellen Bass

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ellen Bass
Bass in 2018
Bass in 2018
Born (1947-06-16) June 16, 1947 (age 78)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation
EducationGoucher College (BA)
Boston University (MA)
GenrePoetry
Nonfiction
Notable worksThe Courage to Heal, Indigo, Like a Beggar, The Human Line, Mules of Love
Notable awardsPushcart Prize (2003, 2014, 2017)
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (2014)
Lambda Literary Award (2002)
SpouseJanet Bryer
ChildrenSaraswati Bryer-Bass
Max Bryer-Bass
Website
ellenbass.com

Ellen Bass (born June 16, 1947) is an American poet and author. She has won three Pushcart Prizes and a Lambda Literary Award for her 2002 book Mules of Love. She co-authored the 1991 book The Courage to Heal about recovery from child sexual abuse. She received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2014 and was elected chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 2017. Bass taught poetry at Pacific University and has founded poetry programs for people in prison.[1]

Early life and education

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Bass grew up in Pleasantville, New Jersey, where her parents owned a liquor store.[citation needed] Her family later moved to Ventnor City, New Jersey, where she graduated from Atlantic City High School.[2] She attended Goucher College, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1968 with a bachelor's degree. She pursued a master's degree in creative writing at Boston University, where she studied with Anne Sexton, and graduated in 1970.

Career

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From 1970 to 1974, Bass worked at Project Place, a social service center in Boston.[3]

She co-wrote the best-selling The Courage to Heal with Laura Davis about healing from childhood sexual abuse,[4] as well as developing training seminars for professionals,[5] offering workshops for survivors,[1] and lecturing to mental health professionals nationally and internationally.[6] The book has been widely criticized; neither Bass nor Davis have any formal training in psychotherapy or psychiatry, and critics argue that the book's scientifically unsound therapeutic advice exacerbated the moral panic over satanic ritual abuse.[7][8] She is a co-founder of the Survivors Healing Center in Santa Cruz, California, a non-profit organization offering services to survivors of child sexual abuse.[9]

Bass teaches at the low-residency Master of Fine Arts program at Pacific University in Oregon.[10][11] She has taught workshops in Santa Cruz, California[12] since she moved there in 1974 as well as nationally.[13] In 2013, she founded the Poetry Program at the Salinas Valley State Prison, which offers a weekly workshop to incarcerated men.[14][15][16] In 2014, she also founded the Santa Cruz Poetry Project, which offers weekly workshops to people incarcerated in Santa Cruz County jails.[17][18]

Bass has written poetry books including Indigo (2020), which was a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize,[19] a Publishing Triangle Award,[20] and a Northern California Book Award;[21] Like a Beggar (2014), which was a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize,[22] a Publishing Triangle Award,[23] the Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award,[24] the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry,[25] and a Northern California Book Award;[26] The Human Line (2007); and Mules of Love (2002), which won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry.[27] Her poems have been published widely in journals and anthologies, including The New Yorker,[28] The American Poetry Review,[29] The Kenyon Review,[30] and Ploughshares.[31]

Her nonfiction books include I Never Told Anyone (co-edited with Louise Thornton, HarperCollins, 1983);[32] Free Your Mind (written with Kate Kaufman, HarperCollins, 1996);[33] and The Courage to Heal (HarperCollins, 1988).[34][35] They have been translated into twelve languages.[3]

In 2017, Bass was elected as a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and served until 2022.[11]

Bass was named the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission Artist of the Year in 2019.[36]

Bass lives in Santa Cruz with her wife, Janet Bryer.[1] She has two children.[37]

Awards

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Bass was awarded the Elliston Book Award for Poetry from the University of Cincinnati,[citation needed] the Nimrod/Hardman Pablo Neruda Prize,[citation needed] The Missouri Review’s Larry Levis Prize,[38] the Greensboro Review Poetry Prize,[39] the New Letters Poetry Prize,[40] the Chautauqua Literary Journal Prize for Poetry,[41] and four Pushcart Prizes (2003, 2015, 2017).[citation needed] She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation,[42] the National Endowment for the Arts,[43] and the California Arts Council.[39]

Indigo (2020) was a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize,[19] a Publishing Triangle Award,[20] and a Northern California Book Award.[21] Like a Beggar (2014) was a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize,[22] a Publishing Triangle Award,[23] the Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award,[24] the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry,[25] and a Northern California Book Award.[26] The Human Line (2007) was named among the notable books of 2007 in the poetry section by the San Francisco Chronicle.[44] Mules of Love (2002) won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry.[27][39]

Published works

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Poetry

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  • I'm not your laughing daughter. University of Massachusetts Press. 1973. ISBN 9780870231285.
  • No More Masks! An Anthology of Poems by Women. Co-edited with Florence Howe. Doubleday. 1973. ISBN 9780385025539.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  • Of Separateness and Merging. Autumn Press. 1977. ISBN 978-0394734309.
  • For Earthly Survival. Moving Parts Press. 1980.
  • Our Stunning Harvest. New Society Publishers. 1984. ISBN 978-0865710535.
  • Mules of Love. BOA Editions. 2002. ISBN 9781929918225.
  • The Human Line. Copper Canyon Press. 2007. ISBN 9781556592553.
  • Like A Beggar. Copper Canyon Press. 2014. ISBN 9781556594649.
  • Indigo. Copper Canyon Press. 2020. ISBN 9781556595752.

Nonfiction

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Children's books

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Interview // Any Life Is a Miracle: a Conversation with Ellen Bass". Poetry Northwest. 2020-05-16. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  2. ^ Duran, Mary. "Good night, Sweet Prince", July 1, 1973. Accessed June 17, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "No More Masks, soon to be published by Doubleday-Anchor Press, Garden City, New York, was edited by the daughter of a Ventnor couple, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Bass of 103 South Rosborough Avenue. Ellen Bass, an Atlantic City High School graduate, is credited with the anthology of poems along with co-editor Florence Howe."
  3. ^ a b Wood, Stacy (2014). "Finding Aid for the Ellen Bass Papers LSC.2227". Prepared for the UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  4. ^ The Courage To Heal Revised Edition: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sex Paperback – April 6 1992. ASIN 0060969318.
  5. ^ Underwager, Ralph (1992). "Book Review - 'The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse'". IPT Journal. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  6. ^ "Sexual assault expert Ellen Bass featured at 'An Evening of Healing' Sept. 26 at Syracuse University". SU News. 2002-09-24. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  7. ^ Tavris, Carol; Aronson, Elliot (2020). Mistakes were made (but not by me) third edition: why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-547-41603-8.
  8. ^ McHugh, Paul R. (2008). Try to remember: psychiatry's clash over meaning, memory, and mind. New York: Dana Press. ISBN 978-1-932594-39-3.
  9. ^ "Survivors Healing Center". Family Service Agency of the Central Coast. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  10. ^ "Ellen Bass". Pacific University. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  11. ^ a b "Ellen Bass". Academy of American Poets. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  12. ^ Brown, Ellen F. (5 January 2016). "In Plain Sight: The Vanishing of Ellen Bass". The Rumpus.
  13. ^ "Truth and Beauty: A Poetry Workshop with Ellen Bass and Marie Howe". Academy of American Poets. 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  14. ^ "Arts-in-Corrections Programs Return to California State Prisons". California Arts Council. 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  15. ^ "Ellen Bass". OTHERWISE COLLECTIVE. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  16. ^ "BE A VOLUNTEER!". poetry-project. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  17. ^ "ABOUT". poetry-project. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  18. ^ Winter, Renee (2023-07-16). "I teach poetry in the Santa Cruz jail, but it's 'my guys' who are teaching me". Lookout Santa Cruz. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  19. ^ a b "2021 PATERSON POETRY PRIZE WINNER". The Poetry Center at PCCC. 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  20. ^ a b "Recommended Reading: Indigo by Ellen Bass". The Publishing Triangle. 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  21. ^ a b "40th Annual Northern California Book Awards". Poetry Flash. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  22. ^ a b "THE 2015 PATERSON POETRY PRIZE". The Poetry Center at PCCC. 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  23. ^ a b "The Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry". The Publishing Triangle. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  24. ^ a b "Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award Past Winners". Binghamton University. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  25. ^ a b "The 27th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists". Lambda Literary. 2015-03-04. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  26. ^ a b "34th Annual Northern California Book Awards". Poetry Flash. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  27. ^ a b "15th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. 2003-07-10. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  28. ^ "Ellen Bass". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  29. ^ "Ellen Bass". American Poetry Review. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  30. ^ "Ellen Bass". The Kenyon Review. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  31. ^ "Ellen Bass". Ploughshares.
  32. ^ Collins, Glenn (1983-10-28). "3 BOOKS ON CHILD SEX ABUSE". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  33. ^ Bass, Ellen; Kaufman, Kate (1996-05-10). Free Your Mind. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-095104-7.
  34. ^ "The Courage to Heal by Ellen Bass, Laura Davis (Ebook)". Everand. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  35. ^ Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. ASIN 0060962348.
  36. ^ Thaler, Shmuel (2019-05-01). "Art Seen | Poet and writer Ellen Bass named 2019 Artist of the Year". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  37. ^ "Ellen Bass II". New Letters. 2017. Archived from the original on 2025-01-14.
  38. ^ "The Feminist Press". The Missouri Review. 2005-03-23. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  39. ^ a b c Purdy, Gilbert Wesley. "The Human Line". Eclectic Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  40. ^ "Ellen Bass - Poesie da 'Indigo'". Inverso (in Italian). 2020-04-25. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  41. ^ Traister, Daniel. "Ellen Bass, 'When I Die'". Department of English. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2025-05-27.
  42. ^ "Ellen Bass". Guggenheim Fellowships. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  43. ^ "Ellen Bass". National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  44. ^ Villalon, Oscar (2007-12-23). "Bay Area authors' books among best of '07". San Francisco Chronicle.
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