About

Jacob Strautmann Life and Books

I was born and raised in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, but I’ve spent most of my life in Greater Boston. My debut book of poems The Land of the Dead Is Open for Business was published in 2020, and my sophomore effort New Vrindaban arrives in 2024. While the earlier poems return to my Northern Appalachian roots, the second book is more personal and troubles the subjects of grief, guilt, family, and lost friends.

Jacob Strautmann Professional Scorecard

The Creative Writing MA I received at Boston University and subsequent entry level position at BU established me in the Northeast. In my nearly 24 years of professional work at Boston University 17 of them included the position of Managing Director at Derek Walcott’s Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, the home of new plays in Boston; during the pandemic and afterwards I was the department manager of Economics Department, one of the top programs anywhere for developmental economics; and for the last couple years I’ve been working as a writer in the Development Communications wing of BU’s Development & Alumni Relations. Overlaying all three jobs I taught hundreds of Boston University undergraduates poetry, fiction, and playwriting as an adjunct professor. Over twenty years I taught two-to-three courses a year. I no longer teach, and I’m delighted to be paid to write.

Jacob Strautmann Around the Corner

I’m working on a collection of poems inspired by the series of paintings (tentatively titled “Abstractions”) of Frankfurt-based artist Eva Strautmann. A couple of these poems show up in New Vrindaban, and the painting featured on the front cover of this book is Eva’s. This third manuscript of poems is tentatively titled Golden Horses. In addition, I’ve become excited about writing fiction.