Today we’d like to introduce you to Estab. Anthony Ramstetter, Jr..
Hi Estab. Anthony, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my undergraduate schooling at Miami University of Ohio as a Business: Economics Major & switched my major to Creative Writing upon completing my fourth semester in school. I had absolutely amazing professors in English & Creative Writing who not only nurtured my growth as a reader & writer, but also allowed me to fall in love with the English Language. Upon completing my undergraduate schooling, I applied to Peace Corps before I ended up continuing my schooling at Miami University in their Master of Arts Program in Creative Writing. Since then, I have published over 175 times as well as been a ghost songwriter for a number of major recording artists. Currently, I live in Asheville, North Carolina working as a barista at Starbucks while I bolster my publication record in poetry & prepare in several years to enter a professorship in English & Creative Writing at Louisiana State University (LSU).
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not always been a smooth road: in my childhood, I stuttered quite profoundly, which was helped by amazing speech pathologists wherein the stuttering events are much rarer. I grew up in a household with an abusive birth mother who was unmedicated with having bipolar disorder & who did not have my best interests in mind. & like every poet & writer, the path to publication of my writing has been extremely challenging, as almost all of the literary journals I submit to accept less than 2% of submissions for publication, & oftentimes much fewer than that percentage. That much information shared, ever since my youth, I have had a fairly smooth road on the whole thankfully.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a poet, academic & singer-songwriter who has earned whereupon established faculty of arts & letters insomuch valediction the Established & Doctor of Philosophy & Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing & Literature from Louisiana State University & the Doctor of Philosophy in English Literature from Oxford University & Harvard University & has earned therefrom university notation withal accordance the Bachelor of Arts & Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Miami University of Ohio.
Additionally, I have been a designer of Michel Foucault coursework for Sorbonne University & more institutions, creator of a product idea for Mars, Inc., contributor editorially in Oxford University Press publications & many others, & adviser medicinally for physicians researching cardiovascular thrombosis, among more ventures. I have performed ensemble singing globally as parts of Miami University Men’s Glee Club & Collegiate Chorale, LSU Tiger Glee Club, Bellarmine Chapel Music Ministry at Xavier University & currently First Baptist Church of Asheville Music Ministry. Literary service includes Editor-in-Chief for Oxford Magazine, by which I have been anthologized, Poetry Editor for New Delta Review, Co-Director & -Coordinator of Delta Mouth Literary Festival & currently Managing Director for Pan Writers Caravan.
My writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Another Chicago Magazine, Ballast Journal, Epiphany, Five [Quarterly], The Oklahoma Review, petrichor, Poetry Foundation, The Puritan, Western Humanities Review & elsewhere, with honors & awards including Poet Laureateship from Miami University Men’s Glee Club, Established Faculty Membership in the American Academy of Arts & Letters, Kent Gramm MFA Award for Literary Nonfiction & Betty Jane Abrahams Memorial Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets. The Anthony Ramstetter, Jr. Literary Estate is archived in LSU Libraries Special Collections & in the Rare Book & Special Collections Vault of the Library of Congress.
I have served as Lyricist, Arranger &/or Composer for at least ninety-three songs from twenty-four albums & six extended plays collaboratively with major recording artists, including Beyoncé, BJ The Chicago Kid, Mariah Carey, Chromeo, Daft Punk, The Internet, KAYTRANADA, Shay Lia, LMFAO, LunchMoney Lewis, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Mike Posner, Adam Saxe, Solange & Pharrell Williams. The songs & respective albums have won seventeen GRAMMY Awards from forty-seven nominations, & one song received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. The songs have accounted for thirteen Number One songs (including 71 total weeks), sixteen Top Five songs, eighteen Top Ten songs & twenty-two Top 40 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart alone. Songs also include six Diamond Certified singles by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), & two songs & four albums are listed on the 500 Greatest Songs & 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone Magazine (2020 & 2021). Additional accolades include numerous Billboard Music Awards, Juno Awards & MTV Music Video Awards, one song featured on the Madden NFL 16 video game soundtrack, one song nominated for the SOCAN Songwriting Prize & albums both longlisted for & received the Polaris Music Prize & a Peabody Award. Numerous songs & albums also have been placed on music critics’ year- & decade-end lists, namely Spin, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, The Village Voice, Slate, & Glamour, among other notable publications. Collectively, the songs have accrued tens of millions in physical & download sales units & countless billions of on-demand audio & video streams. (Selected timeframe above indicates range of songs’ release dates; all rights reserved to recording artists, record labels, fellow songwriters & musical collaborators, etc.)
My writing specializes in gender & sexuality, music & musicality, translation (particularly Finnish to English homophonically), personal essay, romantic relationships, religion, humor, & much more. My research areas include Contemporary & Modern American Poetry & Poetics; Visual Poetry; Performance Writing; Translation; Literary & Arts Journaling; Critical & Cultural Theory; Poetry & Activism; Scholarship in Literature of the Renaissance: Poetry; Michel Foucault & Discourse Analysis; & Rhetoric of Disability & Medicine.
Currently, I am a barista at Starbucks where I have worked for the past seven years in several roles bolstering my publication record. In my various roles, I have helped establish an Asheville store as the fastest & one of the highest revenue Starbucks Corporate Retail Stores in the MidAtlantic Region from 600+ stores. I was honored by Starbucks as Global Partner of the Year (GPOY) for Fiscal Year 2024 Worldwide & selected by Greater Asheville Coffeehouse Leadership as District Partner of the Year (DPOY) for Fiscal Year 2023 in District 1090 within Greater Asheville, North Carolina. I am also proud to share that I have never been late whatsoever or absent unexcused in my experience as a Starbucks partner.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Seth Godin’s daily blog has been an indispensable resource for my personal & professional growth the past seventeen years & counting; he does an outstanding job at giving professional advice: highly recommended! StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath through Gallup has also been a great tool for learning about one’s strengths in a professional setting. Poetry Magazine is amazing for readership in some of the world’s best poems, & Poets & Writers Magazine alongside the submissions interface Duotrope have been amazing with organizing poetry submissions to literary journals & contests.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyramstetter
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anthonyramstetter
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyramstetter
- Twitter: https://www.x.com/tonyramstetter
