Bonnie Lyons
Encyclopedia
Bonnie Lyons is an American writer and academic.
Bonnie was born in Brooklyn, New York and lived there until she was five years old, at which point she moved to Miami Beach. Her grandparents were Benjamin and Rebecca Kaplan and Benjamin and Rose Dubrow, all of whom were originally from Minsk, Belarus and immigrated in the early twentieth century. Benjamin Dubrow was the founder of the famous Dubrow's Cafeteria
, and Bonnie would work there in the summers, often taking orders over the phone.
She was president of her class at Miami Beach High School
, but never graduated from high school, choosing instead to leave early and attend Newcomb College at Tulane University
in New Orleans, Louisiana
. She completed her undergraduate and graduate work at Tulane and received her Ph.D in English Literature in 1973. She currently lives in San Antonio, Texas
and is a full professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio
. She is married to Grant Lyons
, who is a fiction writer, and has one daughter, Eve Lyons. She and her husband taught in Israel for a year. She also lived in Boston from 1973-1976, because her first teaching position was at Boston University
. While in Boston, she took a photography class at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education
with David Akiba
, who went on to become a lifelong friend of hers.
Her primary teaching interests are American literature, Jewish literature, and women writers. She has published articles and interviews in many journals, including The Paris Review and Contemporary Literature. She is the author of a book about American novelist Henry Roth
.
In the past ten years, she has started to write and publish poetry, and has published two books and two chapbooks to date.
Bonnie was born in Brooklyn, New York and lived there until she was five years old, at which point she moved to Miami Beach. Her grandparents were Benjamin and Rebecca Kaplan and Benjamin and Rose Dubrow, all of whom were originally from Minsk, Belarus and immigrated in the early twentieth century. Benjamin Dubrow was the founder of the famous Dubrow's Cafeteria
Dubrow's Cafeteria
Dubrow's Cafeteria was a chain of cafeteria-style restaurants in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Miami Beach. Dubrow's was established in 1929 by an immigrant named Benjamin Dubrow . Dubrow was married to Rose Solowey, from the country now known as Belarus...
, and Bonnie would work there in the summers, often taking orders over the phone.
She was president of her class at Miami Beach High School
Miami Beach High School
Miami Beach Senior High School, commonly referred to as "Beach High" or "MBSH", is a secondary school located at 2231 Prairie Avenue in the Miami Beach, Florida, right around the corner from the Miami Beach Convention Center and Botanical Gardens on Prairie Avenue and Dade Boulevard...
, but never graduated from high school, choosing instead to leave early and attend Newcomb College at Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. She completed her undergraduate and graduate work at Tulane and received her Ph.D in English Literature in 1973. She currently lives in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
and is a full professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio, commonly referred to as UTSA, is a state university in San Antonio, Texas. With an enrollment of more than 30,000 students, it is the third-largest of nine universities and six health institutions in the University of Texas System and the eighth-largest in...
. She is married to Grant Lyons
Grant Lyons
Grant Lyons is an American writer. He was born in Butler, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Port Arthur, Texas. While attending Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur, Lyons and a group of male friends befriended Janis Joplin, who was otherwise an outcast in school...
, who is a fiction writer, and has one daughter, Eve Lyons. She and her husband taught in Israel for a year. She also lived in Boston from 1973-1976, because her first teaching position was at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
. While in Boston, she took a photography class at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education
Cambridge Center for Adult Education
The Cambridge Center for Adult Education , a non-profit corporation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been teaching adult education courses at 42 Brattle Street since taking over the building from the Cambridge Social Union in 1938...
with David Akiba
David Akiba
David Akiba is a photographer who lives and works in Boston, MA. His name at birth was David Cohen, but when he was a young man he changed his name because there was already a photographer with that name. He was born in Boston but grew up in Winthrop, MA. He received his undergraduate degree from...
, who went on to become a lifelong friend of hers.
Her primary teaching interests are American literature, Jewish literature, and women writers. She has published articles and interviews in many journals, including The Paris Review and Contemporary Literature. She is the author of a book about American novelist Henry Roth
Henry Roth
Henry Roth was an American novelist and short story writer.-Biography:Roth was born in Tysmenitz near Stanislaviv, Galicia, Austro-Hungary...
.
In the past ten years, she has started to write and publish poetry, and has published two books and two chapbooks to date.
Publications
|isbn=0815405162 |oclc=2464583 }}- Passion and Craft: Conversations with Notable Writers (co-written with Bill Oliver), 1995. ISBN 0252023870 (hardcover), ISBN 0252066871 (paperback)
- Hineni, New Women's Voices Series, No. 15, Finishing Line Press, 2003
- In Other Words, Pecan Grove Press, 2004
- Meanwhile, Finishing Line Press, 2005.
- Bedrock, Pecan Grove Press, 2011
Further reading
- Art at Our Doorstep: San Antonio Writers and Artists featuring Bonnie Lyons. Edited by Nan Cuba and Riley Robinson (Trinity University Press, 2008).