Harvey Oxenhorn

Harvey Oxenhorn (1952 – May 16, 1990) was an American academic and author most famous for writing the book, . He was the Director of the Public Policy Communications Program at Harvard University. Oxenhorn was born in New York City. He got a Bachelor of Arts degree at Swarthmore College and a Doctorate in English from Stanford University.^[1] His thesis was entitled "Elemental Things: The Poetry of Hugh MacDiarmid".^[2] He taught at both Stanford and Tufts University before accepting a position at Harvard, first as an instructor, and then as Director in 1983.^[3] In addition to nonfiction, he also wrote poetry. His work has been included in such publications as The Atlantic, Ploughshares, and The Southern Review. He spent a considerable amount of time in writer's retreats such as the MacDowell Colony and Yaddo.^[3]

Tuning the Rig, a nonfiction account of Oxenhorn's time at sea on a scientific whaling expedition, was reviewed favorably in many newspapers, including in the Toronto Star,^[4] the New York Times,^[5] and the Ottawa Citizen.^[6] His doctoral thesis was also turned into a book, receiving positive reviews.^[7] Oxenhorn was in the process of writing a book about his experiences with teaching children in Kenya at the Yaddo retreat when he died in a car crash in Hillside, New York.^[3] His funeral service was held at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum.^[8] Oxenhorn's friend, the writer Alice Hoffman, successfully lobbied to republish Tuning the Rig. This latest edition includes an afterword by the Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky.^[9] He was the son of the educator and author Joseph Oxenhorn and the brother of the translator and political theorist Mera J. Flaumenhaft.

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