John Jenkins (poet)
Encyclopedia
John Jenkins is an Australian poet
, non-fiction author and editor. He is the author, co-author, editor or co-editor of more than 20 books, mostly poetry and non-fiction. He has also collaborated widely with other artists and poets, including on various gallery installations and theatrical events. His papers are at special collections, Academy Library, University of NSW at ADFA.
Jenkins was born in Melbourne and studied business subjects at Swinburne University of Technology
. He worked in educational publishing in the 70s, then widely in commercial journalism until 2000. He has since worked as a book editor, and taught at Box Hill Institute of TAFE
, University of Melbourne
(School of Creative Arts) and La Trobe University
.
His first book of poems, Zone of the White Wolf and Other Landscapes was published in 1974; he co-edited (with Michael Dugan
) the collection of innovative short fiction, The Outback Reader (1975) while his first non-fiction title, 22 Australian Contemporary Composers, appeared in 1988. He has also collaborated with poet Ken Bolton
on a number of books of poetry. In the 70s and 80s and 90s he variously carried out co-, associate- or advisory-editorial roles with the Australian journals Etymspheres, Helix, Aspect, Art and Literature, and Overland
, and in the early 1980s began the small publisher, Brunswick Hills Press.
He has traveled widely, and has lived and worked in Sydney, Japan and the UK, as well as Melbourne. His travel writing has appeared in inflight magazines, Signature Magazine (Australia) and Australian Gourmet Traveller, and he edited Travelers' Tales of Old Cuba: from Treasure Island to Mafia Den (2002).
His articles and reviews have appeared in Photofile, Agenda, Artstreams, The Age
Monthly Review, Australian Book Review
, The Australian
, Overland, Southerly
and other newspapers and periodicals.
His installation, The Arthur Tantrum Letters, was held at Central Street Gallery, Sydney in 1970. In the 80s he took part in stage shows at La Mama Theatre
and Grant Street Theatre and other venues in collaboration with musicians, and with dancers from Melbourne's Modern Dance Ensemble. In the 90s he took part in a multi-media installation at Adelaide's Experimental Art Foundation. And he collaborated with other writers at Jolt Arts in 2010.
He won the 2004 James Joyce Foundation Suspended Sentence Award, and 2003 Artsrush Poetry Prize. He was shortlisted for 2004 FAW Christina Stead Award, and Commended for the 2006 Newcastle Poetry Prize and 2005 Melbourne Poets Union Poetry Competition. His work has featured on ABC Radio National's Airplay and Poetica series.
His latest collection, Growing Up With Mr Menzies, (2008) has been described as "a complex, layered and original work".
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, non-fiction author and editor. He is the author, co-author, editor or co-editor of more than 20 books, mostly poetry and non-fiction. He has also collaborated widely with other artists and poets, including on various gallery installations and theatrical events. His papers are at special collections, Academy Library, University of NSW at ADFA.
Jenkins was born in Melbourne and studied business subjects at Swinburne University of Technology
Swinburne University of Technology
Swinburne University of Technology is an Australian public dual sector university based in Melbourne, Victoria. The institution was founded by the Honourable George Swinburne in 1908 and achieved university status in June 1992...
. He worked in educational publishing in the 70s, then widely in commercial journalism until 2000. He has since worked as a book editor, and taught at Box Hill Institute of TAFE
Box Hill Institute of TAFE
Box Hill Institute is a secondary and tertiary education institute based in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, with additional campuses overseas...
, University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
(School of Creative Arts) and La Trobe University
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to become the third oldest university in the state of Victoria. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are...
.
His first book of poems, Zone of the White Wolf and Other Landscapes was published in 1974; he co-edited (with Michael Dugan
Michael Dugan (poet)
Michael Dugan was an Australian poet, children's writer, and editor. In 1968, he first published his own small poetry magazine, Crosscurrents Magazine, from the Melbourne suburb of Canterbury. Dugan also created the King Hippo Poetry Band who performed folk-rock versions of well-known poems...
) the collection of innovative short fiction, The Outback Reader (1975) while his first non-fiction title, 22 Australian Contemporary Composers, appeared in 1988. He has also collaborated with poet Ken Bolton
Ken Bolton
Ken Bolton is an Australian poet and art critic.Bolton was born in Sydney and studied fine arts at the University of Sydney, where he also tutored. In the late 70s he edited the poetry magazine Magic Sam and began the small press Sea Cruise Books with Anna Couani. His first book of poems, Four...
on a number of books of poetry. In the 70s and 80s and 90s he variously carried out co-, associate- or advisory-editorial roles with the Australian journals Etymspheres, Helix, Aspect, Art and Literature, and Overland
Overland (literary journal)
Overland is an Australian literary and cultural journal. It was founded in 1954, under the auspices of the Realist Writers Group in Melbourne, Australia, with Stephen Murray-Smith being the first editor. The current editor is Jeff Sparrow. The journal has a left-wing orientation.- External links :*...
, and in the early 1980s began the small publisher, Brunswick Hills Press.
He has traveled widely, and has lived and worked in Sydney, Japan and the UK, as well as Melbourne. His travel writing has appeared in inflight magazines, Signature Magazine (Australia) and Australian Gourmet Traveller, and he edited Travelers' Tales of Old Cuba: from Treasure Island to Mafia Den (2002).
His articles and reviews have appeared in Photofile, Agenda, Artstreams, The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
Monthly Review, Australian Book Review
Australian Book Review
Australian Book Review is Australia's leading literary review. Created in 1961 the ABR is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing...
, The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
, Overland, Southerly
Southerly (journal)
Southerly is an Australian literary magazine, established in the 1930s. It is currently published in hardcopy and online three times a year, and carries fiction and poetry by established and new authors as well as reviews and critical essays...
and other newspapers and periodicals.
His installation, The Arthur Tantrum Letters, was held at Central Street Gallery, Sydney in 1970. In the 80s he took part in stage shows at La Mama Theatre
La Mama Theatre (Melbourne)
The La Mama Theatre is a theatrical venue located at 205 Faraday St, Carlton, Victoria. It opened in a former factory building on 30 July 1967 and still operates today under the direction of Liz Jones....
and Grant Street Theatre and other venues in collaboration with musicians, and with dancers from Melbourne's Modern Dance Ensemble. In the 90s he took part in a multi-media installation at Adelaide's Experimental Art Foundation. And he collaborated with other writers at Jolt Arts in 2010.
He won the 2004 James Joyce Foundation Suspended Sentence Award, and 2003 Artsrush Poetry Prize. He was shortlisted for 2004 FAW Christina Stead Award, and Commended for the 2006 Newcastle Poetry Prize and 2005 Melbourne Poets Union Poetry Competition. His work has featured on ABC Radio National's Airplay and Poetica series.
His latest collection, Growing Up With Mr Menzies, (2008) has been described as "a complex, layered and original work".
Poetry
- Zone of the White Wolf and Other Landscapes (Contempa, 1974) ISBN 869410059
- Blind Spot (Makar, 1977) ISBN 0909354138
- The Inland Sea (Brunswick Hills Press, 1984) ISBN 0959092900
- Chromatic Cargoes (Post Neo Publication, 1986)
- Airborne Dogs, With Ken Bolton (Brunswick Hills, 1988) ISBN 0959092935
- The Ferrara Poems, With Ken Bolton (Experimental Art Foundation, 1989) ISBN 0949836214
- The Wild White Sea (Little Esther Books, 1990) ISBN 0731683595
- Days Like Air (Modern Writing Press, 1992) ISBN 0646033876
- The Gutman Variations, With Ken Bolton (Little Esther Books, 1993) ISBN 0646128302
- The Wallah Group, With Ken Bolton (Little Esther Books, 2001) ISBN 0958626162
- A Break in the Weather, verse novel (Modern Writing Press, 2002) ISBN 0958187401
- Nutters Without Fetters, With Ken Bolton (PressPress, 2002) ISBN 0958036705
- Dark River (Five Islands Press, 2003) ISBN 1741280214
- Gwendolyn Windswept, verse novel, With Ken Bolton (serialized in Otis Rush magazine)
- Poems of Relative Unlikelihood, With Ken Bolton (Little Esther Books, 2005) ISBN 0958626170
- Growing Up With Mr Menzies (John Leonard Press, 2008) ISBN 9780980526912
Short fiction
- The Arthur Tantrum Letters, With Robert Harris, written under pseudonyms O. Der and M. Slipteal (Stitch and Time Books, 1975)
Non fiction
- 22 Contemporary Australian Composers (NMA Publications, 1988) ISBN 0731622634
- Arias, Recent Australian Music Theatre, With Rainer Linz (Red House Editions, 1997) ISBN 0646304038
- Travelers' tales of Old Cuba: from Treasure Island to Mafia Den, as editor (Ocean Press, 2002 & 2010) ISBN 9780980429213
Anthologies
- Dreamrobe Embroideries and Asparagus for Dinner, co-editor with Walter Billeter (The Paper Castle, 1974)
- Cheeries & Quartermasters, co-editor with David Miller (The Paper Castle, 1975)
- The Outback Reader, co-editor with Michael Dugan (Outback Press, 1975) ISBN 0868880035
- Soft Lounges, the 2nd Fringe Anthology, co-editor with Antonia Bruns (Fringe Network/Champion Books, 1984) ISBN 0959240217
- Eclogues, Newcastle Poetry Prize Anthology 2007, co-editor with Martin Harrison and Jan Owen (Hunter Writers' Centre, 2007) ISBN 0975835440
External links
- 22 Contemporary Australian Composers (NMA Publications, 1988) published online: http://www.rainerlinz.net/NMA/22CAC/TOC.html
- Travelers' Tales of Old Cuba: from Treasure Island to Mafia Den (2002), Introduction and list of contents, at http://www.oceanbooks.com.au/product/travelers-tales-of-old-cuba/
- Radio play, synopsis of Under The Shaded Blossom, by John Jenkins, at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/airplay/stories/2006/1630530.htm
- Poetica episodes featuring John Jenkins poetry http://search.abc.net.au//search/search.cgi?form=poetica&num_tiers=1&num_ranks=20&collection=rn&query=John+jenkins&form=poetica&meta_v=%2Brn/poetica/stories
- The Lobster and The Brick, long poem http://www.radio.adelaide.edu.au/writersradio/podcast/wr1037.mp3
- Cold Press, poem http://artsrush.com.au/?page_id=192
- Growing Up With Mr Menzies, quotes http://www.johnleonardpress.com/?id=27211058#jenkins
- John Jenkins, Home Page http://www.johnjenkins.com.au