Thomas McEvilley was an American poet, art critic, novelist, and scholar. McEvilley studied Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, and classical philosophy at the University of Cincinnati, then he received his M.A, from the University of Washington. He then returned to the University of Cincinnati where he earned his Ph.D. in classical philology. McEvilley was a Distinguished Lecturer in Art History at Rice University and founded the Department of Art Criticism and Writing at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. McEvilley died in 2013 at the age of 73.