John Kinsella
Encyclopedia
John Kinsella is an Australian poet, novelist, critic, essayist and editor. His writing is strongly influenced by landscape, and he espouses an 'international regionalism' in his approach to place. He has also frequently worked in collaboration with other writers, artists and musicians.
. His mother was a poet and he began writing poetry as a child. He cites Judith Wright
among his early influences. Before becoming a full-time writer, teacher and editor he worked in a variety of places, including laboratories, a fertiliser factory and on farms.
, the Grace Leven Prize for Poetry
, the John Bray Award for Poetry, and the 2008 Christopher Brennan Award
.
His poems have appeared in journals such as Stand, The Times Literary Supplement
, The Kenyon Review, Poetry Salzburg Review
and Antipodes. His poetry collections include: Poems 1980-1994, The Silo, The Undertow: New & Selected Poems, Visitants (1999), Wheatlands (with Dorothy Hewett, 2000) and The Hierarchy of Sheep (2001).
His most recent book, Peripheral Light: New and Selected Poems, includes an introduction by Harold Bloom
and his next poetry collection, The New Arcadia, was published in June 2005.
Kinsella is a vegan and has written about the ethics of vegetarianism. In 2001 he published a book of autobiographical writing, called Auto. He has also written plays, short stories and the novels Genre and Post-colonial.
Kinsella has taught at Cambridge University
, where he is a Fellow of Churchill College. Previously, he was Professor of English at Kenyon College
, USA, where he was the Richard L Thomas Professor of Creative Writing in 2001.
Kinsella's manuscripts are housed in the University of Western Australia, the National Library of Australia, the University of New South Wales, Kenyon College and the University of Leeds. The main collection is in the Scholars' Centre of the University of Western Australia Library.
Kinsella's latest book, Activist Poetics: Anarchy in the Avon Valley, was published in 2010 by Liverpool University Press, and is edited by Niall Lucy
.
and an editorial consultant for Westerly
.
Early life and work
Kinsella was born in Perth, Western AustraliaPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. His mother was a poet and he began writing poetry as a child. He cites Judith Wright
Judith Wright
Judith Arundell Wright was an Australian poet, environmentalist and campaigner for Aboriginal land rights.-Biography:...
among his early influences. Before becoming a full-time writer, teacher and editor he worked in a variety of places, including laboratories, a fertiliser factory and on farms.
Later poetry and writing
Kinsella has published over thirty books and his many awards include three Western Australian Premier's Book AwardsWestern Australian Premier's Book Awards
The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an award for books, scripts, digital narrative and a People's Choice. Awards are provided by the Government of Western Australia, and the awards process is managed by the State Library of Western Australia...
, the Grace Leven Prize for Poetry
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry
The Grace Leven Prize for Poetry is an annual award given in the name of Grace Leven who died in 1922. It was established by William Baylebridge who "made a provision for an annual poetry prize in memory of 'my benefactress Grace Leven' and for the publication of his own work"...
, the John Bray Award for Poetry, and the 2008 Christopher Brennan Award
Christopher Brennan Award
The Christopher Brennan Award is an Australian award given for lifetime achievement in poetry. The award, established circa 1976, takes the form of a bronze plaque; it recognizes a poet who produces work of "sustained quality and distinction"...
.
His poems have appeared in journals such as Stand, The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation.-History:...
, The Kenyon Review, Poetry Salzburg Review
Poetry Salzburg Review
Poetry Salzburg Review is an English language, biannual literary magazine published by Poetry Salzburg at the University of Salzburg and edited by Wolfgang Görtschacher and Andreas Schachermayr. It is a successor to The Poet's Voice which was edited and published in Austria by British poets Fred...
and Antipodes. His poetry collections include: Poems 1980-1994, The Silo, The Undertow: New & Selected Poems, Visitants (1999), Wheatlands (with Dorothy Hewett, 2000) and The Hierarchy of Sheep (2001).
His most recent book, Peripheral Light: New and Selected Poems, includes an introduction by Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom is an American writer and literary critic, and is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. He is known for his defense of 19th-century Romantic poets, his unique and controversial theories of poetic influence, and his prodigious literary output, particularly for a literary...
and his next poetry collection, The New Arcadia, was published in June 2005.
Kinsella is a vegan and has written about the ethics of vegetarianism. In 2001 he published a book of autobiographical writing, called Auto. He has also written plays, short stories and the novels Genre and Post-colonial.
Kinsella has taught at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, where he is a Fellow of Churchill College. Previously, he was Professor of English at Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
, USA, where he was the Richard L Thomas Professor of Creative Writing in 2001.
Kinsella's manuscripts are housed in the University of Western Australia, the National Library of Australia, the University of New South Wales, Kenyon College and the University of Leeds. The main collection is in the Scholars' Centre of the University of Western Australia Library.
Kinsella's latest book, Activist Poetics: Anarchy in the Avon Valley, was published in 2010 by Liverpool University Press, and is edited by Niall Lucy
Niall Lucy
Niall Lucy is an Australian writer and scholar best known for his work in deconstruction.-Career:Niall Lucy is a professor in the School of Media, Culture & Creative Arts at Curtin University, and a former Head of the School of Arts at Murdoch University...
.
Work as an editor and critic
Kinsella is a founding editor of the literary journal Salt and international editor of The Kenyon Review. He co-edited a special issue on Australian poetry for the American journal Poetry and various other issues of international journals. He is a poetry critic for The ObserverThe 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,...
and an editorial consultant for Westerly
Westerly (Australian literary magazine)
Westerly is a literary magazine that is produced at the University of Western Australia English Department since 1956. It is currently publishes two issues a year....
.
Poetry collections
- Night Parrots (1989)
- The Book of Two Faces: Poems (1989)
- Ultramarine: Poems (1991)
- Eschatologies (1991)
- Poems (1991)
- Full Fathom Five (1993)
- Syzygy (1993)
- The Silo: A Pastoral Symphony: Poems (1995)
- Erratum / Frame(d) (1995)
- Intensities of Blue: poems (1995)
- The Radnoti Poems (1996)
- Lightning Tree (1996)
- The Undertow: new and selected poems (1996)
- Poems, 1980-1994 (1997)
- Lines of Sight (1997)
- The Hunt and Other Poems (1998)
- Pine: poems (1998)
- Counter-Pastoral (1999)
- Visitants (1999)
- Fenland Pastorals (1999)
- Zone (2000)
- Wheatlands (2000)
- The Hierarchy of Sheep (2001)
- Rivers (2002)
- Peripheral Light: New and Selected Poems (2003)
- Doppler Effect (2004)
- The New Arcadia (2005)
- Love Sonnets (2006)
- America, or Glow: (A Poem) (2006)
- Divine Comedy: Journeys Through Regional Geography (2008)
- Shades of the Sublime and Beautiful (2008)
- Jam Tree Gully (2011)
Edited
- The Bird Catcher's Song : A Salt Anthology of Contemporary Poetry (1992)
- Sightings: poems for International PEN 62nd World Congress (1995)
- Landbridge: Contemporary Australian Poetry (1999)
- The Owner of My Face : New and Selected Poems (2002)
- Michael Dransfield : A Retrospective (2002)
- Western Australian Writing : An Online Anthology (2003)
- School Days (2006)
- Dreamhoard: Pipe Dreams, Daydreams, Reveries and Nightmares (2008)
- Over There: Poems from Singapore and Australia (2008)
- The Penguin Anthology of Australian Poetry (2009)
Interviews
- "The Poetry Kit Interviews John Kinsella", 1998 http://www.poetrykit.org/iv98/kinsella.htm
- "overland", interviewed by Tracy Ryan, 24 November 2008 http://web.overland.org.au/?page_id=612
External links
- Author website.
- Three poems.
- Parrotology: On the Necessity of Parrots in Poetry essay by John Kinsella at the Australian Book ReviewAustralian Book ReviewAustralian 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...
. - 'America' reviewed by Abena Sutherland in poetry mag "Intercapillary Space".
- Mutually Said: Poets Vegan Anarchist Pacifist, the blog that he shares with Tracy RyanTracy RyanTracy Ryan is an Australian poet and novelist. She has also worked as an editor, publisher, translator, and academic.-Life:Tracy Ryan was born in Western Australia, where she grew up as part of a large family...
. - soi 3 publicity page for Post-colonial.
- Audio: John Kinsella reads "Rapture: Tim Discovers the Cosmos" from the book Divine Comedy: Journeys Through A Regional Geography (via poemsoutloud.net)
- "John Kinsella’s Shades of the Sublime and Beautiful reviewed by Nicholas Pierpan" at Tower Magazine
- Profile at Bloodaxe Books