Andrew Johnston (poet)
Encyclopedia
Andrew Johnston is an award-winning New Zealand
poet and journalist who works as an editor for the International Herald Tribune
in Paris
.
He is associated with the "Wellington school" of poets, which prominently includes Bill Manhire
and Jenny Bornholdt
, and his verse has been published in Meanjin and Scripsi in Australia; London Magazine and Verse in the United Kingdom; and in Sport as well as other publications in New Zealand.
, he received a bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of Otago
and a master's degree in English Literature from the University of Auckland
. In 1995 he represented New Zealand at the University of Iowa's International Writing Program.
Johnston edited the books page of (the now-defunct) The Evening Post from 1991-1996. In 1997 he moved to London
and started working as a "casual sub-editor on the broadsheets", but after eight months moved to Normandy
to teach English. When the job fell through, he commuted once a week across the Channel to work part-time for The Observer
newspaper.
His marriage in 1998 resulted in his getting the right to work in France, and he applied for and received a job as an editor at the International Herald-Tribune in Paris. He moved there in 1999 with his wife, Christine. They have a son, Emile.
Johnston also edits "The Page", a Web site that features poems and essays from elsewhere on the Internet. "I'd always wanted to find a web site that kept track of the best new writing about poetry, and couldn't find it, so I made it myself," Johnston said in a 2007 interview. "It's a lot of fun, though I find it hard attending to it regularly."
In 2007 he became the J.D. Stout Fellow at Victoria University. He is living in New Zealand for a year, writing a book about contemporary New Zealand poetry.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
poet and journalist who works as an editor for the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
He is associated with the "Wellington school" of poets, which prominently includes Bill Manhire
Bill Manhire
William "Bill" Manhire, CNZM is an award-winning New Zealand poet, short story writer, and professor, New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate.-Biography:...
and Jenny Bornholdt
Jenny Bornholdt
Jennifer Mary Bornholdt is an award-winning New Zealand poet and anthologist.-Biography:Born in Lower Hutt, Bornholdt received a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Journalism...
, and his verse has been published in Meanjin and Scripsi in Australia; London Magazine and Verse in the United Kingdom; and in Sport as well as other publications in New Zealand.
Life and career
Born in Upper HuttUpper Hutt
Upper Hutt is a satellite city of Wellington. It is New Zealand's smallest city by population, the second largest by land area. It is in Greater Wellington.-Geography:Upper Hutt is 30 km north-east of Wellington...
, he received a bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
and a master's degree in English Literature from the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
. In 1995 he represented New Zealand at the University of Iowa's International Writing Program.
Johnston edited the books page of (the now-defunct) The Evening Post from 1991-1996. In 1997 he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and started working as a "casual sub-editor on the broadsheets", but after eight months moved to Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
to teach English. When the job fell through, he commuted once a week across the Channel to work part-time for The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
newspaper.
His marriage in 1998 resulted in his getting the right to work in France, and he applied for and received a job as an editor at the International Herald-Tribune in Paris. He moved there in 1999 with his wife, Christine. They have a son, Emile.
Johnston also edits "The Page", a Web site that features poems and essays from elsewhere on the Internet. "I'd always wanted to find a web site that kept track of the best new writing about poetry, and couldn't find it, so I made it myself," Johnston said in a 2007 interview. "It's a lot of fun, though I find it hard attending to it regularly."
In 2007 he became the J.D. Stout Fellow at Victoria University. He is living in New Zealand for a year, writing a book about contemporary New Zealand poetry.
Awards and recognition
- Louis Johnson New Writers Bursary recipient, 1991
- How to Talk, 1993, won the 1994 New Zealand Book Award for Poetry and the 1994 Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award.
- "Great Aunt", a poem, selected for the online collection Best New Zealand PoemsBest New Zealand Poems seriesThe Best New Zealand Poems series, begun in 2001 is an annual online selection of poems chosen by guest editors. The program is run by the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand....
2002 - "Les Baillessats", a poem, selected for Best New Zealand Poems 2004
Works
Poetry:- 2007: Sol, Victoria University Press
- 2000: Birds of Europe, Victoria University Press
- 1999: The Open Window, Arc Publications (United Kingdom)
- 1996: The Sounds, Victoria University Press
- 1993: How to Talk, winer of the 1994 New Zealand Book Award for Poetry and the 1994 Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award, Victoria University Press