Fred Wilcox

Biography

Fred A. Wilcox is an associate professor in the writing department at Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York. He is the editor of GRASS ROOTS: an anti-nuclear source book (Crossing Press 1981), and Disciples & Dissidents: Prison Writings of the Prince of Peace Plowshares (Haley's 2001). He is the author of Waiting for An Army to Die: The Tragedy of Agent Orange (Random House 1983); Uncommon Martyrs: How the Berrigans & Friends are Turning Swords into Plowshares (Addison-Wesley 1991); Fighting the Lamb's War: Skirmishes with the American Empire (the autobiography of Philip Berrigan (Common Courage Press l996) and Chasing Shadows: Memoirs of a Sixties Survivor (The Permanent Press 1996). He has taught courses on the Vietnam War for the past twenty-five years, has published articles about and given numerous talks on the Vietnam War. He researched and wrote one chapter of a national curriculum, The Lessons of the Vietnam War (Center For Social Studies Education 1991).

He has spent his entire adult life writing and teaching about war and nonviolence. He continues to teach, write, and speak about the necessity to build schools rather than bombs, to spend billions on health care rather than atomic submarines, and to create peace, rather than violence and war, in the world. His research has led him to conclude that our planet, Mother Earth, is a toxic Titanic. Our air, water, and food supplies are inundated with carcinogenic substances, and people here and abroad are suffering from an epidemic of cancer. In Vietnam, for example, the deadly chemical TCDD-Dioxin has recently been found in ducks, chicken, fish, and other foods. Agent Orange, a weapon of mass destruction, poisoned large sections of Vietnam, leaving a legacy of cancer and serious birth defects.

Fred A. Wilcox is an honors graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop and is currently working on a photo essay, We the People: Listening to Americans in a Time of Terror, and a novel, Chasing Sean. He is hoping to secure funding to research and write a book about the effects of Agent Orange on the Vietnamese.

He has won a number of awards for his teaching, and his book, Waiting for an Army To Die, was chosen by the American Library Association as among its "most notable books" in two categories: Adult Nonfiction, and Young Adult Nonfiction.

Education

B.A., English & sociology, State University of Iowa 1970
M.F.A. in English & creative writing, Writers Workshop, University of Iowa 1973
Doctor of Arts, English & expository writing, University of New York, Albany 1987

Teaching Experience

• 1987-present - Associate professor, Ithaca College, writing department -- Writing from Sources, Academic Writing I, Academic Writing II (genre course: Writing about the Vietnam War), Personal Essay, Professional Writing, Fiction Writing , Fiction Writing II, Writing from Cultural Experience, Freshman Seminar, Writing about violence and nviolence
• Current - A six-week course, with faculty from various disciplines, focusing on the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, and the war in Afghanistan, Ithaca College.
• Summer 1995 - Cornell University freshman summer program -- Personal Essay.
• Summer 1987 - Colgate University, summer scholars program -- Intro. to College Writing.
• Fall 1987 - SUNY-Cortland, Academic Writing.
• 1985-87 - State University of New York at Albany - - Freshman Composition, Reading Prose Fiction, Literature from the Vietnam War.
• Spring & summer 1985 - Camp McCormack, a maximum security prison for adolescents, Brooktondale, New York. Designed and taught the first college-level courses for inmates who had completed high school and who were expecting to go on to college when they were released: Experiential Writing, Intro. to College Writing, Preparation for College Writing.
• 1984-86 - Empire State College -- Freshman Composition, Remedial Writing, Advanced Composition, Writing for Publication, Expository Writing, General Editing, Introduction to Literature, Novel Writing, Creative Writing, Women’s Literature, Literature from the Vietnam War, Afro-American Literature, Occult Literature.
• 1978-1981 - Trumansburg Public Schools, permanent substitute, all levels, all subjects.
• 1978 - Tompkins County Community College - Business Communication &Technical Writing.
• Fall 1972 - University of Iowa -- Depression Era Literature.
• 1971-73 - Iowa City Public Schools -- substitute on all levels and in all subjects. Helped tutor at-risk students.

Honors

• American Educators Who's Who, 2000
• Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts Grant, 1996
• Oracle Society, Ithaca College, 1993
• Men of Achievement, 15th Edition,1991
• Citation, Excellence In Teaching the Vietnam War, from the New York State Legislature, 1991
• The International Authors and Writers Who's Who, 1990
• Corinne Galvin Individual Achievement Award, Tompkins County Human Rights, 1989
• The Legion of Honor, The Chapel of Four Chaplains, 1987
• M.F.A. Thesis and Examination passed with honors, 1973
• Undergraduate Honors English, 1970

Books In Print

• Dissidents and Disciples: Creating Hope in the Emperor's Apocalyptic World (Haley's 2000)
• Fighting the Lamb's War: The Autobiography of Philip Berrigan (Common Courage Press 1996).
• Chasing Shadows: Memoirs of a 'Sixties Survivor (The Permanent Press, 1996).
• Uncommon Martyrs: How the Berrigans and Others Are Turning Swords Into Plowshares (Addison-Wesley, 1991).
• Lessons from the Vietnam War, a National Curriculum on Teaching the Vietnam War, Contributor/Editor, Center for Social Studies Education, 1988.
• Waiting For an Army To Die: The Tragedy of Agent Orange (Random House, May 1983).
• GRASS ROOTS: A Source Book On How To Oppose Nuclear Power (Crossing Press, l981).

Works in Progress

(Books)

Coming Back to Life: A Family’s Battle to Survive Years of Addiction
Not In Our Name: Resisting War, Creating Peace, Saving Mother Earth

(Articles, recent)

Philip Berrigan: Presente. (The Bookery, February 2003)
Belfast Diary: Hate, Suspicion, Hope in the North of Ireland (The Bookery, April 2002).
" Loving, Hating, Crying, Teaching: Life After Sept.11" Creative Nonfiction for "Living Issue Project", spring 2002

Articles about Author & Reviews of Work

Reviews of my work have appeared in numerous publications, including the Saturday Review, New Republic, Detroit Free Press, Des Moines Register, Iowa Alumni Review, Newsday, New York Times, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Veterans for Peace Journal, On The Issues, Peacework, San Francisco Chronicle, West Coast Review of Books, and others.

Biographies of Author

Contemporary Authors

The International Authors & Writers Who's Who

Men of Achievement, l5th Edition

Iowa Alumni News