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Community Corner

Masterson Teaches Poetry, Life at RCC

Noted Poet has been part of the Pearl River community for almost 50 years.

After nearly fifty years, Dan Masterson remains a vital and dynamic part of the Pearl River and Rockland County communities. 

The celebrated poet and professor at Rockland Community College since 1963 and poet laureate for Rockland County is presently completing his fifth book, but that just begins to tell his story.

Masterson’s life narrative is filled with improbable twists and turns since his birth in Buffalo, NY in 1934. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1956 from what later would become the Newhouse School of Public Communications.

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By 1959, he and his wife Janet (whom he met while in college) both had well-paying positions in Manhattan.  Masterson was working in public relations for the preeminent firm responsible for the road companies of major Broadway shows while Janet was with a large ad agency.

It was at this point the Mastersons decided to take a monumental step. 

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“After several very successful years I was looking to make a change and do something important with my life," Masterson said. "At the same time Janet was doing very well as a copywriter for the McCann-Erickson ad agency and was also interested in making a change.

"We made a major decision and gave all our money to the Catholic Church.  And, we were making a lot of money in 1962. We planned to go to Chile as part of the program Catholics for Latin America.”

Masterson was surprised by some of the reactions he got.

“I thought that my parents would be proud but they were very upset at our decision," Masterson said. "Also, Janet was pregnant with our first child, Martha.  I didn’t like show business and really wanted to do something important.  But then we asked ourselves what are we going to do with our lives and this baby?”

The Mastersons changed their minds and, with no jobs or a place to live, went to stay with relatives in Bergen County, New Jersey.  Once again life was going to take a dramatic turn for Dan Masterson.

"Knowing absolutely no one in town, I stopped at Pearl River High School and asked to see the principal Walt Reiner,” Masterson said “We just clicked, Walt told me that ‘you are going to be a good teacher.’ We have eleven high schools in the county.  Go and introduce yourself to every principal.

“I saw everyone that day because Walt Reiner called each principal on my behalf and said some very nice things. I didn’t miss a day of substitute teaching for the rest of the year. I had subbed in Buffalo and loved it.  Then Clarkstown High School put me on staff full time as a teacher in Honors Math.  I then went to Nanuet High School for three years teaching English.” 

Masterson began his storied career at Rockland Community College in 1963.

“I came here and started teaching at night for extra money,” Masterson said.

One of the first people he met at RCC was the head of the English Department and former dean of the college, Henry Larom. 

“Henry hired me to teach poetry and we became best of friends," Masterson said. "I taught six months of night classes then moved to full time as an associate professor until Henry made me a full professor.”

Masterson pays tribute to Larom in his poem “Whatever You Say, Henry.”

Early on in his full-time position, Masterson was teaching Freshman English until, “the kids went to the dean.  Then came a Poetry Writing Workshop and a class in poetry appreciation.

“I really love teaching the kids because they are so interesting.  Most of them take courses and then go to work. These are 'second-chance' kids at RCC.  They found out if they finish two years here there is a good chance of getting into a good college.  Honors kids can go anywhere.”

Writing Poetry

Masterson began writing poetry in grade school. His parents were an important influence.

“My dad woke us up each morning with a different tune that he had created and my mom would have a dictionary open on the kitchen table each day with a new word for me," Masterson said. "I couldn’t wait to get home at lunchtime and see what the word would be.  These two things fed me with the juice that I needed for poetry.  I would sit in my room after school writing about stuff instead of doing homework. I didn’t know what poetry was but I was writing it.”

Masterson said there is no set schedule to his writing.

“Now I don’t write every day but I write in 15-hour hunks of time, I write well into the night," Masterson said. "Janet and my best friend John Allman, who used to be the other poet at RCC, are my best critics.”

Writers Must Read

Regarding the authors that he chooses to read, Masterson mentions James Dickey (Deliverance) who visited his home in 1967 and became a close friend. 

“Dickey wrote a wonderful blurb for my first book,” Masterson said.

Masterson also holds William Faulkner in high regard. 

“Faulkner is the tallest redwood in the forest of writers," Masterson said. "Flannery O’Connor is the next highest.  A lot of the people that I read are the people that I teach.”

Other favorites include John Cheever, Sherwood Anderson, Jack London, Joyce Carol Oates, John Keats and Theodore Roethke.  It is most likely to find Masterson reading short stories, particularly by Faulkner, or poetry rather than novels. 

“If I find a novel, I sink into it and read it quickly," Masterson said. "I get impatient with a lot of novelists, they go on and on.”

Calling Pearl River Home

Relating his feelings for the Pearl River and Rockland County communities that have been his home since 1962, Masterson is effusive with his praise.

“I love the town, the kids and my colleagues," Masterson said. "My kids and Janet loved it here. When we moved in we didn’t even know it was an Irish area.  It was the most affordable place in Rockland County.  We talked with the owner as she sat on her front porch, and not only did we buy the house, she gave this young couple the lot next to it. 

“What we love about Pearl  River is that it hasn’t lost its small town charm.  There were a lot of theaters and 5 & 10’s. When you come into Pearl  River it tastes like a town. There is a nice feeling to it….and the high school.  A lot of sayings on town signs can prove to be false, but Pearl River is friendly. It has changed but never lost that small town feeling and it has become diverse.”

As might be expected, over the years Masterson has had numerous opportunities to pursue his education or his career in other locales. 

“I asked myself should I go on to get an MA or Doctorate," Masterson said. "With all these poets coming through (at RCC) looking for a poet, I get job offers. I have had the chance to go elsewhere, but I think poetry will do it.  I don’t want to go anywhere else.”

Masterson said he is spending the summer writing a poem about Sam Draper, the late former director of the MTS program at Rockland Community College. The discipline now bears his name as The Sam Draper Mentor/Talented Student Honors Program.

“It is the best honors program in the United States," Masterson said. "A student needs a high B+ to get into the program.

Sharing Life Lessons

Sharing the experience that he has gained over his long career, Masterson has some key elements that make up his philosophy of life:

  • “One of the mantras that I tell my students is that the poem swill serve itself best if it comes from the gut, the mind and the heart, in that order. And decisions in life should follow that same pattern.”
  • “I really think the reason in marriage, the main reason for marrying, is for making the other person happy—the only reason."
  • ”I always refuse to network even knowing that it might well hamper my career as a poet.  I think that it is sleazy showing up at every reading. I don’t have the will to do that. It has worked out fine for me. I am working on my fifth book.”

Masterson's Family

Masterson has been married for 54 years to Janet, who continues her career as a psychotherapist at a private school on Staten Island.  They have two children. Martha is a mother who works as a copy editor for publishing houses and Steve is an attorney in Los Angeles.

Steve Masterson is married to a well-known doctor and television personality Lisa Masterson, M. D. Dr. Masterson can be seen as a regular cast member on the nationally syndicated “The Doctors” which is carried locally on WCBS-TV.

“Steve and Lisa are taking money and using it to train doctors and nurses in third world countries," Masterson said proudly.

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