Title:English Educator (Retired), Writer, Publisher and Visual Artist Company: Eastern New Mexico University Location: Portales, New Mexico, United States
Antony Oldknow, PhD, English Educator (Retired), Writer, Publisher and Visual Artist at The Scopcraeft Press, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Artists for dedication, achievements, and leadership in editing and publishing.
Dr. Oldknow was inspired to write by his schoolteacher, Mr. John D. Mowat. His teacher introduced him to the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. Dr. Oldknow was immediately intrigued by Hopkins’ writing style and began to mimic his style. Eventually, his writing style manifested into its’ own and he followed his dream of becoming a writer. He matriculated at the University of Leeds earning a BA in English with honors and an MEd in 1961 and 1963, respectively. Deciding to continue with his education, Mr. Oldknow earned an MS in phonetics from the University of Edinburgh in 1964. From there, he took graduate courses from 1968 to 1969 in linguistics and computer programming at The University of Chicago. In 1983, he earned a PhD in English at the University of North Dakota.
Dr. Oldknow has had many career highlights. One of his major highlights was being named the chairman of the council of chairs at Eastern New Mexico University. He has also had the pleasure of having encounters with figures like T.S. Elliot, Dick Gregory, Anne Sexton, Richard Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson in the process of his career. Dr. Oldknow’s career began when he became a lecturer in English at the Cowdenbeath Technical College from 1962 to 1964. He then became an assistant professor of linguistics at Universite Laval from 1964 to 1966. He also became an assistant professor of English at North Dakota State University that year and remained there until 1972. From 1972 to 1976, Dr. Oldknow was a graduate teaching assistant in the English department at the University of North Dakota and in 1976 he moved up to instructor of English. He moved on to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1976 and remained until 1984. He held the positions of instructor of English and academic coordinator. The following three years, he was an instructor of English at The University of Kansas. In 1987, he moved on to Eastern New Mexico University and remained until he retired as an Emeritus Professor in 2012. During his tenure, he held the positions of assistant professor, associate professor and professor. Dr. Oldknow has also been the editor of numerous magazines and has written many short stories and poems.
In his professional life, rather than as a professor, Dr. Oldknow is best known as a well-published writer and translator of French, Italian, and Medieval English. Since 1966, he has been a small-press publisher and general editor of the Scopcræft Press, which includes over 250 titles. It is evidenced that all his specialties are intertwined. He is also a railroad historian, classical music and sports enthusiast, and a lifelong painter and photographer, whose work has been exhibited and sold in the US and the UK. A dynamic speaker and actor, he has also given many performances in five countries and 25 US states, both in person and on radio, TV and film.
A respected voice in his areas of expertise, Dr. Oldknow’s published writings include the short story collections, Dr. Upex and the Great God Ing: Fifteen Weird Unexpected Stories (2018); and The Passion Play and Other Ghost Stories (2006); the poetry and translation collection Wanderers (2013); The Selected Early Poems Collection, Alive with Souls (2012); the magic-realism novel Invasions (2010); the education article“The Curse of College English: Freshman Composition” (2012); the composition textbook Precision Writing (1998), and many others. He became a US Citizen in 1995.
As a testament to his success, Dr. Oldknow has received a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English from Eastern New Mexico University in 2017, the President’s Award for service from Eastern New Mexico University in 1991 and the Governor of North Dakota’s Citation as North Dakota’s Distinguished Writer in 1972. Furthermore, he has been listed in the 26th edition of Who’s Who in the West, the 1st edition of Who’s Who in the Media and Communication and the 8th edition of Who’s Who in American Education.
