Antonio de Nicolas was educated in Spain, India and the United States, and received his Ph.D. in philosophy at Fordham University in New York. He is Professor Emeritus of philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Dr. de Nicolas is the author of some twenty- seven books, including, Meditations Through the RgVeda, THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF ORAL/ INDIC TEXTS, Avatara: The Humanization of Philosophy through the Bhagavad Gita, a classic in the field of Indic studies; and Habits of Mind, a criticism of higher education, whose framework has recently been adopted as the educational system for the new Russia. He is also known for his acclaimed translations of the poetry of the Nobel Prize-winning author, Juan Ramon Jimenez, and of the mystical writings of St.Ignatius de Loyola and St. John of the Cross.
A philosopher by profession, Dr. de Nicolas confesses that his most abiding philosophical concern is the act of imagining, which he has pursued in his studies of the Spanish mystics, Eastern classical texts, and most recently, in his own poetry. His books of poetry: Remembering the God to Come, The Sea Tug Elegies, Of Angels and Women, Mostly. and Moksha Smith: Agni''''''''s Warrior-Sage. An Epic of the Immortal Fire, have received wide acclaim. Critical reviewers of these works have offered the following insights:
from Choice: "...these poems could not have been produced by a mainstream American. They are illuminated from within by a gift, a skill, a mission...unlike the critico-prosaic American norm..."
from The Baltimore Sun: "Steeped as they are in mythology and philosophy these are not easy poems. Nor is de Nicolas an easy poet. He confronts us with the necessity to remake our lives...his poems ...show us that we are not bound by rules. Nor are we bound by mysteries. We are bound by love. And therefore, we are boundless"
from William Packard, editor of the New York Quarterly: " This is the kind of poetry that Plato was describing in his dialogues, and the kind of poetry that Nietzsche was calling for in Zarathustra."
Professor de Nicolas is presently a Director of the Biocultural Research Institute, located in Florida.
A world of rapid experience Antonio T. de Nicolas: World traveler, poet, author
By RON WALTERS
Staff Writer
Speaking across the flat white of a tablecloth, Antonio de Nicolas's recollections seem sprung from 50 lives. To hear him remember, his soft Spanish voice filled with the knowledge of living, is a kaleidoscope of time.
"Every memory of every place is beautiful," he said.
Stories of growing up in Castillian, Spain, of time spent in foreign embassies as an ambassador. Stories about studying in India, of living with and teaching the aboriginal tribes there, of going through acceptance rituals where to fail meant severed communication.
There was this one time when the Pope (a friend) called him: "He asked me, 'Antonio, what can we do to Christianize Europe?' and I said, 'You're asking me? You talk to Him.'"
You feel yourself drawn into a world of rapid experience.
He's a poet, a writer, a translator, a world traveler; he has authored almost 30 books whose subjects encompass Oriental philosophy, historical reflection and education.
Having studied in Spain, India and the United States, he received his doctorate in philosophy at Fordham University in New York and is Professor Emeritus of philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Growing up, his first language was Spanish. He learned English, not only for professional and social reasons, but because it would strengthen his writing, having to convey thoughts in a different way, he said.
Fluent in many other languages including Sanskrit, he has translated
several works of literature. Some of the most important, he said, are the works of Juan Ramon Jimenez, a Noble Prize-winning Spanish author and p<<