Born in Michigan (1), Gregory Crosby spent his formative years in Las Vegas (2) , where for more than a decade he was an art critic, (3) columnist and cultural commentator. His poems have appeared in several journals, including Court Green, Epiphany, Copper Nickel, Paradigm, Jacket, Rattle, Poem, [sic], Pearl, BigCityLit, The South Carolina Review, The Red Rock Review, Stirring and others (4). He is the author of three chapbooks: Twenty Poems (1996), Revenge of a Mortal Hand (1998) and Satan’s Skull Glows White Hot (2000) (5).
In 2002, as a poetry consultant for the Cultural Affairs Division of the City of Las Vegas, he was instrumental in the creation of the Poets Bridge public art project in the Lewis Avenue Park in downtown Las Vegas. His dedicatory poem for the project, “The Long Shot,” was subsequently reproduced in bronze and installed in the park (6); later, it appeared in the University of Nevada Press anthology Literary Nevada: Writings from the Silver State. In 2004, he was awarded a Nevada Arts Council Fellowship in Literary Arts (7).
He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the City College of New York (8), where he won the 2006 Marie Ponsot Poetry Prize (9). Most recently (10), he was a finalist for the 2006 Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize. (11)
1. East Lansing, to be precise. When Crosby was eight or nine, Borges visited the campus of Michigan State University. Crosby, however, was at that time far more exicted to meet Stan Lee at one of his many college appearance, where Stan "The Man" praised him for pronouncing Sub-Mariner correctly and then signed his copy of The Origins of Marvel Comics, which Crosby sold many years later to pay the rent.
2. "The only place where you can have a good time without actually enjoying yourself." (Attributed to comedian Jack Carter)
3. Well, let's be honest: Crosby was a reviewer. Not that reviewing cannot be the basis for serious criticism--all criticism must begin in the articulation and analysis of one's response--but really, Crosby can't pretend he was anything more than a belle lettrist for a few alternative weeklies.
4. Publishing poems in journals is the literary equivalent to a morphine drip.
5. Fortunately, these are all long out of print.
6. From whence it was stolen by scrap metal thieves in the summer of 2008. Ah, fame.
7. Eighth time's the charm.
8. He swore he would never do that, but it turned out okay. Crosby studied with Elaine Equi, Wayne Koestenbaum, and Marilyn Hacker, all of whom were mentors of the highest order.
9. She's simply amazing. If you have a chance to see her read, do so.
10. Does two years count as "most recently?"
11. Crosby always wanted to write something as fine as Hecht's "Third Avenue in Sunlight." Perhaps he will.