Official Obituary of Anthony Thomas Swann →
A tribute to Anthony will be broadcast on Jazz On America Avenue on KAXE radio on Sunday, March 10 from 6-8 pm.
Anthony Swann was a long time Watermark (Bemidji Community Art Center – BCAC) Board Member from 2008 until 2013. He joined the Exhibit Committee in 2008 and actively participated until 2018. Along with Lorie Yourd and Linda Thiem, Anthony was instrumental as one of the Charter members of the Spoken Word Committee. He was also an active member from 2010 to 2021.
The information that follows on this page refers to his 2009 presentation, a reading from his CD “The Kali Yuga Rag”,
for what became the Spoken Word Series beginning in 2010.
Anthony Swann’s Biography as presented in July 2009
Anthony Swann began writing poetry and articles for the school paper during high school. At Bemidji State Teachers College, his 1962 poem, “Oh Soul You will Never See,” appeared in Birches and Pines and was later published under the name of “Wild Rice, Wild Roses” with three other pieces in the 2002 anthology, 33 Minnesota Poets.
In 2006, he won third place in the national Dancing Poetry Contest and was invited to read at the San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
In 2007, he was honored as the first featured poet of Rivers Meeting, the annual literary magazine of Bemidji State University.
His poems have appeared in Loonfeather, North Coast Review, Talking Stick, The Minnesota Poetry Calendar, Fire Ring Voices, Rivers Meeting and various other reviews and newspapers. He has read his poems at open mics and other public venues in California, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Bemidji, Minnesota.
In the 70’s, he was a member of The Lake Street Writers’ Group and is currently a long-standing member of Riters Anonamis, a Bemidji writers’ group. He also maintains a membership in The Academy of American Poets.