A.M. Juster

In the June/July 2010 issue of First Things magazine, Paul Mariani revealed the identity of the person behind the pseudonym of New Formalist poet, translator and critic A.M. Juster.

A.M. Juster’s poetry, translations and essays have appeared in Poetry, The Paris Review, The Hudson Review,The New Criterion, Arion, North American Review, Rattle, Southwest Review, Barrow Street, Hopkins Review and many other publications. Rachel Hadas selected his first book of original poetry, The Secret Language of Women (University of Evansville Press, 2003) for the 2002 Richard Wilbur Award. He has also won the Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award of The Formalist three times as well as the Barnstone Translation Prize. A.M. Juster's most recent books are Saint Aldhelm's Riddles (University of Toronto Press 2015) and Sleaze & Slander. His other books are Longing for Laura (Birch Brook Press, 2001) (selections from Petrarch’s Canzoniere), Horace’s Satires (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008) and Tibullus’ Elegies (Oxford University Press, 2012). In 2016 White Violet Press will publish his subversive The Billy Collins Experience.

The author is a graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School, and has accepted two honorary degrees. He worked for many years in the biotechnology industry and gained a reputation as an expert on rare diseases and as a chief executive officer who excelled at turning around troubled publicly traded companies.

The author also had a long career in the federal government, where he worked in senior positions for four Presidents, twice in the White House. As General Counsel of the US Department of Health & Human Services, he was a co-architect of the first expedited drug approval regulations for the FDA, regulations which have improved the lives of millions of Americans. He also received national attention for successfully arguing in federal court the first patient dumping enforcement case and successfully trying the first federal HIV discrimination enforcement case.

As Commissioner of Social Security, the author overhauled the agency’s antiquated information technology infrastructure and upgraded its electronic services. As the creator of the agency’s “compassionate allowances” system and the implementer of other systems for improving the promptness and accuracy of the agency’s handling of disability claims, he received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Alzheimer’s Association, the VIDA Award of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, the Public Health Leadership Award of the National Organization for Rare Disorders, the President’s Award of The Arc, Government Executive of the Year from Rare Disease Legislative Advocates, and other honors. He also wrote most of the scripts for the agency's highly regarded humorous public service announcements starring Academy Award winner Patty Duke, which can be found here.