John Muckle
Encyclopedia
John Muckle is a British writer who has published works of fiction, poetry and criticism.
Born in Kingston-upon-Thames, he grew up in the village of Cobham, Surrey
, and has lived most of his adult life in Essex and London. After failing his eleven-plus, Muckle attended a local secondary modern school, transferring to grammar school for the sixth form. He attended the University of Warwick, dropping out after a term, and a couple of years later, Essex, where he subsequently taught for some years in the Literature Department. Here he developed an interest in American and modernist poetry.
After qualifying as a teacher and working in FE colleges, Muckle worked in book publishing. He was an editorial copywriter and editor for Grafton Books (later subsumed into HarperCollins) and in the mid-1980s initiated the Paladin Poetry Series
. He was the General Editor of its flagship anthology The New British Poetry
(Paladin, 1988) and commissioned a number of other titles before he left in anticipation of the company's takeover and dissolution by Rupert Murdoch
. The poetry imprint was then edited by London writer Iain Sinclair
. His own books include It is now as it was then (with Ian Davidson - poetry, Mica Press/Actual Size, 1983), The Cresta Run (short stories - Galloping Dog Press, 1987), Bikers (with Bill Griffiths
- Amra Imprint, 1990), Cyclomotors (illustrated novella - Festival Books, 1997), Firewriting and Other Poems (Shearsman Books, 2005) and, most recently, London Brakes (a novel - Shearsman Books, 2010). He contributes regularly to literary journals as reviewer, poet and essayist, and has published a number of essays on poetry, including that of Allen Ginsberg
, Ed Dorn
, Denise Riley
and Tom Raworth
. In 1989 he received a Hawthornden Fellowship.
Muckle's first book, The Cresta Run, was well-reviewed. Norman Shrapnel
wrote in The Guardian
that "An identifiable vernacular for this still measurable sector of the populace - working-class if not always working - is amply available and John Muckle's excellent stories prove it. The territory of The Cresta Run is short on dropouts and introverts; it's more a world of sleazy service stations, hot-dog vans and skinheads along the Hogs Back, dangerous sailors hot fom the Falklands, people you watch your words with." In London listings magazine City Limits Nick Kimberley explained that the book was "almost entirely speech-driven" and concerned "people who are not very bright but love country and western; he skilfully catches the rhythms of their talk, not in 'Minder'-style caricature but as an imaginative means to pinpoint their shabby place in this world." Edinburgh Review
said that Muckle was a post-modernist, or perhaps an apocalypic, and concluded: "But the fetish fashionism surrounding junk, icons, kitsch makes this a collection which is only almost disturbing". Cyclomotors, ten years later, was not widely reviewed, but a number of well-known writers praised it highly, including John Berger
, Michael Moorcock
, Harold Pinter
and Will Self
. Marxist literary critic Terry Eagleton
praised his Firewriting, a long poem about Walter Benjamin
as "A deeply impressive poem ... full of riches and depth." Firewriting and Other Poems also contained a sequence arising from a period of working in care homes. On publication of his London Brakes, Muckle was attacked by a columnist in the Times Literary Supplement for using Pinter's words ("More power to your writing hand") on the front cover of this novel based on the working lives of London's motorcycle couriers.
Born in Kingston-upon-Thames, he grew up in the village of Cobham, Surrey
Cobham, Surrey
Cobham is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, about south-west of central London and north of Leatherhead. Elmbridge has been acclaimed by the Daily Mail as the best place to live in the UK, and Cobham is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt...
, and has lived most of his adult life in Essex and London. After failing his eleven-plus, Muckle attended a local secondary modern school, transferring to grammar school for the sixth form. He attended the University of Warwick, dropping out after a term, and a couple of years later, Essex, where he subsequently taught for some years in the Literature Department. Here he developed an interest in American and modernist poetry.
After qualifying as a teacher and working in FE colleges, Muckle worked in book publishing. He was an editorial copywriter and editor for Grafton Books (later subsumed into HarperCollins) and in the mid-1980s initiated the Paladin Poetry Series
Paladin Poetry Series
Paladin Poetry was a series of paperback books published by Grafton Books under its Paladin imprint, intended to bring modernist and radical poetry before a wider audience...
. He was the General Editor of its flagship anthology The New British Poetry
The New British Poetry
The New British Poetry was a poetry anthology from 1988, jointly edited by Gillian Allnutt, Fred D'Aguiar, Ken Edwards and Eric Mottram, respectively concerned with feminist, Black British, younger experimental and British poetry revival poets. The time frame involved was 1968-1988...
(Paladin, 1988) and commissioned a number of other titles before he left in anticipation of the company's takeover and dissolution by Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
. The poetry imprint was then edited by London writer Iain Sinclair
Iain Sinclair
Iain Sinclair FRSL is a British writer and filmmaker. Much of his work is rooted in London, most recently within the influences of psychogeography.-Life and work:...
. His own books include It is now as it was then (with Ian Davidson - poetry, Mica Press/Actual Size, 1983), The Cresta Run (short stories - Galloping Dog Press, 1987), Bikers (with Bill Griffiths
Bill Griffiths
Bill Griffiths was a poet and Anglo-Saxon scholar associated with the British Poetry Revival.-Overview:...
- Amra Imprint, 1990), Cyclomotors (illustrated novella - Festival Books, 1997), Firewriting and Other Poems (Shearsman Books, 2005) and, most recently, London Brakes (a novel - Shearsman Books, 2010). He contributes regularly to literary journals as reviewer, poet and essayist, and has published a number of essays on poetry, including that of Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
, Ed Dorn
Ed Dorn
Edward Merton Dorn was an American poet and teacher often associated with the Black Mountain poets. His most famous work is Gunslinger.-Overview:...
, Denise Riley
Denise Riley
Denise Riley is an English poet and philosopher who began to be published in the 1970s. Her poetry is remarkable for its paradoxical interrogation of selfhood within the lyric mode. Her critical writings on motherhood, women in history, identity, and philosophy of language, are recognised as an...
and Tom Raworth
Tom Raworth
Tom Raworth is a London-born poet and visual artist who has published over forty books of poetry and prose since 1966. His works has been translated and published in many countries. Raworth is a key figure in the British Poetry Revival. He lives in Brighton, England.-Early life and work:Raworth...
. In 1989 he received a Hawthornden Fellowship.
Muckle's first book, The Cresta Run, was well-reviewed. Norman Shrapnel
Norman Shrapnel
Norman Shrapnel , was an English journalist, author, and parliamentary correspondent.Shrapnel was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and was educated at The King's School, Grantham. In 1947, after war service in the RAF, he joined the Manchester Guardian as reporter, book reviewer, and theatre critic...
wrote in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
that "An identifiable vernacular for this still measurable sector of the populace - working-class if not always working - is amply available and John Muckle's excellent stories prove it. The territory of The Cresta Run is short on dropouts and introverts; it's more a world of sleazy service stations, hot-dog vans and skinheads along the Hogs Back, dangerous sailors hot fom the Falklands, people you watch your words with." In London listings magazine City Limits Nick Kimberley explained that the book was "almost entirely speech-driven" and concerned "people who are not very bright but love country and western; he skilfully catches the rhythms of their talk, not in 'Minder'-style caricature but as an imaginative means to pinpoint their shabby place in this world." Edinburgh Review
Edinburgh Review
The Edinburgh Review, founded in 1802, was one of the most influential British magazines of the 19th century. It ceased publication in 1929. The magazine took its Latin motto judex damnatur ubi nocens absolvitur from Publilius Syrus.In 1984, the Scottish cultural magazine New Edinburgh Review,...
said that Muckle was a post-modernist, or perhaps an apocalypic, and concluded: "But the fetish fashionism surrounding junk, icons, kitsch makes this a collection which is only almost disturbing". Cyclomotors, ten years later, was not widely reviewed, but a number of well-known writers praised it highly, including John Berger
John Berger
John Peter Berger is an English art critic, novelist, painter and author. His novel G. won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing, written as an accompaniment to a BBC series, is often used as a university text.-Education:Born in Hackney, London, England, Berger was...
, Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
, Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
and Will Self
Will Self
William Woodard "Will" Self is an English novelist and short story writer. His fictional style is known for being satirical, grotesque, and fantastical. He is a prolific commentator on contemporary British life, with regular appearances on Newsnight and Question Time...
. Marxist literary critic Terry Eagleton
Terry Eagleton
Terence Francis Eagleton FBA is a British literary theorist and critic, who is regarded as one of Britain's most influential living literary critics...
praised his Firewriting, a long poem about Walter Benjamin
Walter Benjamin
Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German-Jewish intellectual, who functioned variously as a literary critic, philosopher, sociologist, translator, radio broadcaster and essayist...
as "A deeply impressive poem ... full of riches and depth." Firewriting and Other Poems also contained a sequence arising from a period of working in care homes. On publication of his London Brakes, Muckle was attacked by a columnist in the Times Literary Supplement for using Pinter's words ("More power to your writing hand") on the front cover of this novel based on the working lives of London's motorcycle couriers.
Sources
- Andrew Duncan, The Failure of Convervatism in Contemporary Poetry (Salt Publishing, 2003) p 209
- Anthony Mellors, Late Modernist Poetics: from Pound to Prynne (Manchester University Press, 2005) p 140
- Robert Sheppard, The Poetry of Saying: British Poetry and Its Discontents 1950-2000 (Liverpool University Press, 2005) p 152
- John Muckle, 'The Names: Allen Ginsberg's Writings' in A. Robert LeeA. Robert Lee-Life:His boyhood was spent in Manchester before moving on to a BA in English from University College London in 1963. He received a research MA from King's College London in 1965, with a thesis on Herman Melville, and holds a Ph.D from the University of Kent, UK. From 1967 until 1996 he taught at...
(ed) The Beat Generation Writers (Pluto Press, 1996) - John Muckle, 'How Radio Works: Time, Identity and the Tradition of Dead Generations in Tom Raworth's Poetry'. PN Review 173, vol 33 no. 3 (Jan-Feb 2007), 174, vol 33 no. 4 (Mar-Apr 2007), 175, vol 33 no. 5 (May-Jun 2007), 176, vol 33 no. 6 (Jul-Aug 2007)
- PN Review online http://www.pnreview.co.uk/cgi-bin/scribe?file=/home/pnreview/public_html/members/pnr155/poems/155po10.txt
- Shearsman website http://www.shearsman.com/pages/gallery/muckle/books.html
- Jacket Magazine http://jacketmagazine.com/22/muckle-hawth.html http://jacketmagazine.com/36/muckle-hazlitt.shtml