Justin Quinn
Encyclopedia
Justin Quinn is an Irish poet
and critic, born in Dublin in 1968. He received a doctorate from Trinity College, Dublin
, where his contemporaries included poets Caitriona O'Reilly
and Sinéad Morrissey
, and now lives with his wife and sons in Prague
. He is a lecturer at Charles University.
He has published four poetry collections: The 'O'o'a'a' Bird (1995), Privacy (1999), Fuselage (2002) and Waves & Trees (2006). The 'O'o'a'a' Bird was nominated for the Forward Poetry Prize
for Best First Collection.
He was a founding editor of the poetry journal Metre and has published two critical studies, Gathered Beneath the Storm: Wallace Stevens, Nature and Community, and American Errancy: Empire, Sublimity and Modern Poetry. He has also translated extensively from Czech, in particular the work of Petr Borkovec, and written non-fiction prose on life in the Czech Republic for the Dublin Review.
Quinn's work shows the influence of American writers such as, principally, Wallace Stevens
, but also Anthony Hecht
and James Merrill
. It is characterised by a sensual lushness informed by an awareness of the violence of history, as inflected by the author's experiences of living in the Czech Republic. In its mix of formalist sophistication and openness to experiment Quinn's work confounds perceptions of Irish poetry as rigidly dichotomised between formal conservatism and 1930s-derived innovation, a distinctiveness confirmed by the editorial decision to award him the single largest share of the 2004 Bloodaxe anthology The New Irish Poets.
He has recently translated the work of Czech poet Ivan Blatný.
Criticism
Translations
Art Books
Irish poetry
The history of Irish poetry includes the poetries of two languages, one in Irish and the other in English. The complex interplay between these two traditions, and between both of them and other poetries in English, has produced a body of work that is both rich in variety and difficult to...
and critic, born in Dublin in 1968. He received a doctorate from Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, where his contemporaries included poets Caitriona O'Reilly
Caitriona O'Reilly
Caitríona O'Reilly is an Irish poet and critic. She took BA and PhD degrees in Archaeology and English at Trinity College, Dublin, and was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature for her poetry collection, The Nowhere Birds ; she has also held the Harper-Wood Studentship from St John's...
and Sinéad Morrissey
Sinead Morrissey
Sinéad Morrissey is a poet from Northern Ireland.-Life:Raised in Belfast, she was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where she took BA and PhD degrees, and won the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 1990...
, and now lives with his wife and sons in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. He is a lecturer at Charles University.
He has published four poetry collections: The 'O'o'a'a' Bird (1995), Privacy (1999), Fuselage (2002) and Waves & Trees (2006). The 'O'o'a'a' Bird was nominated for the Forward Poetry Prize
Forward Poetry Prize
The Forward Poetry Prizes were created in 1991. The aim of the prizes is to extend the audience for contemporary poetry. Until the T.S. Eliot Prize remuneration was increased to £15,000 plus £1000 to each of nine runners-up, the Forward was the United Kingdom's most valuable annual poetry...
for Best First Collection.
He was a founding editor of the poetry journal Metre and has published two critical studies, Gathered Beneath the Storm: Wallace Stevens, Nature and Community, and American Errancy: Empire, Sublimity and Modern Poetry. He has also translated extensively from Czech, in particular the work of Petr Borkovec, and written non-fiction prose on life in the Czech Republic for the Dublin Review.
Quinn's work shows the influence of American writers such as, principally, Wallace Stevens
Wallace Stevens
Wallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as a lawyer for the Hartford insurance company in Connecticut.His best-known poems include "Anecdote of the Jar",...
, but also Anthony Hecht
Anthony Hecht
Anthony Evan Hecht was an American poet. His work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history, with the Second World War, in which he fought, and the Holocaust being recurrent themes in his work.-Early years:Hecht was born in New York...
and James Merrill
James Merrill
James Ingram Merrill was an American poet whose awards include the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Divine Comedies...
. It is characterised by a sensual lushness informed by an awareness of the violence of history, as inflected by the author's experiences of living in the Czech Republic. In its mix of formalist sophistication and openness to experiment Quinn's work confounds perceptions of Irish poetry as rigidly dichotomised between formal conservatism and 1930s-derived innovation, a distinctiveness confirmed by the editorial decision to award him the single largest share of the 2004 Bloodaxe anthology The New Irish Poets.
He has recently translated the work of Czech poet Ivan Blatný.
Books
Poetry- The 'O'o'a'a' Bird (Carcanet, 1995)
- Privacy (Carcanet, 1999)
- Fuselage (The Gallery Press, 2002)
- Waves and Trees (The Gallery Press, 2006)
- The Months (2009)
- Close Quarters (2011)
Criticism
- Gathered Beneath the Storm: Wallace Stevens, Nature and Community (UCD Press, 2002)
- American Errancy: Empire, Sublimity and Modern Poetry (UCD Press, 2005)
Translations
- The Drug of Art: Selected Poems of Ivan Blatný (trs Justin Quinn et al., Ugly Duckling Presse, 2007)
- Petr Borkovec: From the Interior, Poems 1995-2005 (Seren, 2008)
Art Books
- Jiří Mědílek, Obrazy (Prague: Opus, 2008)
- Short biography