This website is run by Michael N. McGregor, Professor Emeritus in English and Creative Writing at Portland State University in Oregon. McGregor holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University and a BA in Journalism from the University of Oregon and has taught writing and literature at Columbia University and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. His essays, articles and short stories have appeared in a wide variety of publications, earning him writing awards from Oregon Literary Arts, the Illinois Arts Council and Image literary journal. A five-time recipient of Portland State University’s John Elliot Allen Award for Outstanding Teaching, McGregor serves as a summer writing coach at the Collegeville Institute at St. John’s University in Minnesota and a writing consultant for independent writers.
Before earning his MFA, McGregor worked as a lecturer and guide for European tours and editor-in-chief of World Concern magazine. He has written about theater and other arts for the Oregonian and Seattle Weekly newspapers and served on the Portland Drammy Awards Committee as well as the Oregon Book Awards Advisory Committee and the International Thomas Merton Society Board. In addition to writing about Robert Lax and his friend Thomas Merton for numerous publications, McGregor has lectured on both men at universities, conferences and community events. He is a member of Biographers International Organization,the International Thomas Merton Society, and the Association of Writers and Writing Programs.
During the last fifteen years of Lax’s life, McGregor visited him every year on the Greek island of Patmos.
His website is: michaelnmcgregor.com.
If you would like to share memories or information about Robert Lax, or if you have questions about Lax, Pure Act, or this website, please get in touch using the contact form below.