Robert Phillips (poet)

Robert Schaeffer Phillips (1938 – January 21, 2022) was an American poet and professor of English at the University of Houston. He was the author or editor of more than 30 volumes of poetry, fiction, poetry criticism and other works.

Starting in 2001, the Texas Review in coordination with Sam Houston State University has offered an annual prize bearing Phillips' name for a distinguished poetry chapbook. Starting in 2019, the award includes a $500 advance and publication with Texas A&M University Press.

In 1998 he was named a John and Rebecca Moores Scholar at University of Houston.

Phillip's writings have received a Pushcart Prize, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, a New York State Council on the Arts CAPS Grant in Poetry, MacDowell Colony and Yaddo Fellowships, a NPR Syndicated Fiction Project Award, Enron Teaching Excellence Award (1996), George Arents Pioneer Medal Award, Syracuse University's highest honor for alumni (1988), and Texas Institute of Letters membership.

In 1991, Phillips became a member of the creative writing faculty at the University of Houston, where he remained until his retirement in 2009. He later directed the Creative Writing Program there from 1991 to 1996). His predecessor was Donald Barthelme.

After work, he continued to write poetry and fiction. His first book, Inner Weather was published in 1966. He continued publishing while working in advertising, while teaching creative writing part time at the New School at nights. Eventually, he decided to teach full time.

He found an advertising job with Benton & Bowles in New York City in the 1960s and liked it because it combined his interest in writing, art, writing.). He worked on accounts for Revlon, Clearasil, and Ford Motor Company. He was a copywriter and vice president with Benton & Bowles, J. Walter Thompson and BBDO. He and his wife took a position in the Dusseldorf, Germany office of Grey Global Group, where he had opportunities to travel to places like Paris and London. Eventually he returned to New York and worked at several other agencies.

Phillips was born in Milford, Delaware in 1938 to Thomas Allen Phillips and Katheryn Schaeffer Phillips. He attended schools within the Milford School District. Phillips received B.A. (1960) and M.A. (1963) degrees double majoring in journalism and English literature from Syracuse University.