Tenney Nathanson
Dharma Name: Intimate: Ocean
Title: Roshi
Preferred Name: Tenney
Organization: Desert Rain Zen
Lineage: Open Source of the Pacific Zen School
Tenney Nathanson is a Roshi in Joan Sutherland's Open Source branch of the Pacific Zen School, a tradition characterized by an innovative approach to koan work. With Jennifer Sellers (Head of Practice) he started Tucson's Desert Rain Zen (http://www.desertrainzen.org/) in 2008. Tenney was authorized to teach by Joan Sutherland Roshi in 2012 and received transmission from her and Sarah Bender Roshi in May 2023.
Tenney is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Arizona in Tucson. His academic field is American poetry, and he's a poet as well as a scholar. Tenney also co-founded and continues to be a member of the Tucson poetry and arts collective POG.
Tenney grew up in New York (the Bronx and Manhattan) but has lived with his family in Tucson since 1985.
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