Bio

Marc J. Straus is the author of 4 poetry collections, 3 from Tri-Quarterly Northwestern University Press. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Robert Penn Warren Award in the Humanities from Yale. His poems have appeared in most of the leading literary journals in the U.S. He is an oncologist and former Chairman of Oncology and Professor of Medicine. He has authored some 100 scientific papers and edited three textbooks on lung cancer. He is the recipient of Boston’s Young Leader Award previously given to John F. Kennedy. Marc, and his wife Livia, have been avid collectors of contemporary art since age 20, focusing on new discoveries. Their collection has now had eleven museum exhibits and they are listed among the top collectors in the U.S. Marc lectures worldwide on building an art collection. He has written nearly 50 articles on art. In 2004 Marc and Livia founded Hudson Valley MOCA, a public museum in Peekskill, NY, one hour north of NYC, in an economically challenged multicultural community. HVMOCA has been the spark for the revitalization of the area. In 2011, Marc opened an art gallery on the Lower Eastside of Manhattan, MARC STRAUS, which represents 24 artists from 16 countries and is among the leading galleries today.