James (Jim) Scully (1937 – 2020) was born in New Haven, CT. His mother was a factory worker and his father a shipping clerk. In the 1960s, he was deeply involved in the anti-war movement in the USA. He and his family lived in Santiago, Chile, in 1973-74; after the military coup, their apartment was used as a safe house by the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria.
Jim was the author of 10 books of poetry, four book-length translations, the seminal essay collection Line Break: Poetry as Social Practice (Curbstone Press/Northwestern University Press, 1988/2005), and Vagabond Flags: Journal, Scrapbook & Notes (Azul Editions, 2009). The founding editor of the Art on the Line series (Curbstone Press, 1981-1986), he was a key figure in the movement to radicalize the theory and practice of American poetry—in how it is lived, as well as in how it is written.
His awards include a National Defense Fellowship 1959-1962; an Ingram Merrill Foundation Fellowship (Rome, Italy 1962-63); the Lamont Poetry Award 1967 for The Marches; the Jenny Taine Memorial Award 1971 for translation; a Guggenheim Fellowship (Santiago, Chile 1973-74); National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships 1976-77 and 1990; the Islands & Continents Translation Award 1980; and the Bookbuilders of Boston Award 1983 for book cover design.
After retiring to San Francisco from the University of Connecticut in 1992, for several years, Jim chaired the Board of Directors at Intersection for the Arts, working with Executive Director Deborah Cullinan to revitalize the organization. In 2009, Jim moved to Vermont, where he lived with his wife Arlene until his death in December 2020.