NEW YORK, NY, August 17, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present James Séamus Blake with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Mr. Blake celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Retiring in 2005 after accumulating 40 years in the classroom, Dr. Blake was named professor emeritus in 2001 at Nassau Community College, the State University of New York (SUNY). He taught English and Irish-Gaelic courses on campus for 36 years. Dr. Blake simultaneously taught courses at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Queens College, both part of the City University of New York (CUNY), between 1980 and 1982, and at New York University (NYU), where he was an adjunct professor in the College of Arts and Science and in the Graduate School of Arts and Science between 1988 and 1995. Additionally, he spent two years as an adjunct professor at the Glucksman Ireland House at NYU in Greenwich Village, from 2003 to 2005.
Outside of academia, Dr. Blake's diverse career included broadcasting "Irish Language Culture" on the WFUV-FM radio station at Fordham University for more than 30 years and serving as the host and producer of the one-hour program, "Míle Fáilte," until 2015. He recently joined the advisory board of the Institute for Irish-American Studies at Lehman College, part of CUNY, in 2018 and remains an executive committee member of the Columbia University Irish Studies Seminar since 1981.
Throughout his career, Dr. Blake has been a presenter at several academic conferences in his area of expertise. He has contributed scholarly articles to professional journals, founded and served as the editorial assistant of An Feinics, was the Irish language editor of An Gael and the editor-in-chief of Eire-Ireland: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Irish Studies. More recently, he was an editorial board member of the New Hibernia Review/Iris Eireannach Nua: A Quarterly Record of Irish Studies between 2000 and 2018 and remains on the editorial board of the Journal of Celtic Language Learning since 1994. Honored by several authors, Dr. Blake has been cited in the acknowledgements of the following: "Contemporary Irish Literature: Transforming Tradition" by Christina Hunt Mahony in 1998; "William Trevor: Reimagining Ireland" by Mary Fitzgerald-Hoyt in 2004; and "The Irish Art of Controversy" by Lucy McDiarmid" in 2005. He was also honored by being invited by an artistic director to conduct a dialogue with an audience following the performance of Brian Friel's play, "Translations," at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway in 2007.
Dr. Blake's professional journey led to him to become active with several local organizations, including as the past president and instructor for the Gaelic Society of New York during the late 1970s, which was an American organization founded to promote Irish as a spoken language. He was also the vice president of the Yeats Society of New York and was on the executive board and a representative-at-large for the Mid-Atlantic region of the American Conference for Irish Studies.
Born in New York City, Dr. Blake would often visit the library on 42nd Street as a child. It was one of his favorite places to read, learn and discover, so it was no wonder that he would explore a career in academia later in life. Attending college locally, he received a bachelor's degree at Manhattan College in 1962. He then went on to acquire a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in Irish and Gaelic literature at NYU in 1964 and 1979, respectively. His dissertation was on William Butler Yeats, the major Irish poet of the 20th century.
Among his industry-related organizations, Dr. Blake is a member and past president of the North American Association for Celtic Language Teachers and a member of the Celtic Studies Association of North America and the International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures. He is also a member of the American Conference for Irish Studies, where he served on the executive committee and as a representative for Irish language. Furthermore, Dr. Blake has been very active as a member of the Modern Language Association, having served as chairman of the discussion group for the two-year college executive committee, as the director of the Celtic Language section of the annual international bibliography, and as a representative to the delegate assembly parliamentary body.
Dr. Blake received a Fulbright Award from 1969 to 1971 to attend Trinity College, the University of Dublin. He has since received several other fellowships and grants and had the opportunity to take four sabbaticals during his academic career to further his knowledge and expertise. In 2016, Dr. Blake was the recipient of a Broadcaster of the Year Award from Lehman College. A celebrated Marquis listee, he has been featured in the fourth edition of Who's Who in American Education and the 24th edition of Who's Who in the East.
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