Herb Lowrey

Herb Lowrey (born 30 January 1940, Louisville, Kentucky), of Scottish, English, and Native Blackfoot American descent is an American poet and writer

Life and Career

Herb Lowrey has lived the life of a renaissance man. He is an athlete, musician, poet, businessman, teacher, social worker, activist, humanitarian, world traveler, ocean cruiser, husband, father, and grandfather.

He was raised by his parents in Leitchfield, Kentucky, the home of the Lowrey clan. His father’s roots were Scot-Irish, and his mother was English and Native American (Blackfoot). Herb was born left handed and is still dyslexic. In the world according to Herb, baseball gloves and words never fit. He couldn't read like others, and faked his way through school. He never read a complete book until he was twenty-one.

He inherited his story-teller talent from his grandparents, and listening to tall tales told at the local barber shop and general store. In high school, he organized a band, The Four Knights, which performed in many of the high schools in Kentucky. They almost became famous, but their first tenor was killed at a train crossing.

In 1958, Herb graduated from Leitchfield High School and moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he attended the University of Arizona, worked, and lived for two years. He struggled with his college classes, and dropped-out after his first year. The fall of 1961, he enrolled at Western Kentucky University and was succeeding in his classes until the night of October 21st, 1961 when he was in a tragic car accident in which his best friend, an award winning poet and classical pianist, didn't survive. Herb spent two months in the hospital. When he was released, he weight 86 pounds. It took two years for him to recuperate.

With guilt from still being alive, he decided to work with at-risk youth. In 1963, with a scholarship from Boys' Clubs of America, he re-enrolled to Western Kentucky University, and began working at the War Memorial Boys' Club. After graduating in 1966, he was awarded an MSW fellowship from Boys' Clubs of America to Arizona State University. After moving to Arizona, he worked for Boys' Clubs of Phoenix where he received Boys' Clubs of America National Honor Award in 1968. From 1969 to 1975, Herb served as Boys’ Clubs of Phoenix General manager. In 1975, Herb Lowrey entered the world of business as a real estate salesperson in Tempe, Arizona. At that time, the real estate market was in a deep recession, and most sales agents were fleeing for salaried employment. Herb had two pre-school children, and was in a divorce process. To leave his salaried position on the hope of earning commissions in a down market was considered foolish or gutsy. He specialized in investment properties, and was the top salesperson in his firm.

In 1988, changing Federal banking and tax regulations brought on a saving and loan failures across the country, followed by a major devaluation of real estate market coast to coast. Being highly vested and financed in real estate, Herb was forced to file bankruptcy. He lost everything and ended up living in a storeroom of a small apartment complex on a street in Phoenix known as crack alley. It was during this time he began to write, and returned to college to complete a major in creative writing. At the same time he built a new business in his name, Lowrey Associates, and continued to specialize in the brokerage, rehab, and management of apartment complexes in the Phoenix area.

In May, 2006, Herb retired to pursue his passion to write, and enrolled in creative writing graduate classes at the University of New Orleans. His poetry has appeared in several publications, and since the release of his first book, Herb has been a frequent reader at several public venues including universities, bookstores, and national educational conferences. He plans to complete a MFA program, and continue writing poetry. Herb has settled in Washington, DC to be closer to his family. Published Works

Lowrey’s poetry collection includes Heart River Undertow, (Nuyorican Press, 2008), and chapbooks: Love;s Tango, (2010), Dark Defined (2003), E-ticket Love Poems (1995), andThe Other Reality (1990). His next book is about fear and is planned for release summer 2010.