Nigel Jenkins
Encyclopedia
Nigel Jenkins is one of Wales's foremost poets. Jenkins is also an editor, journalist, broadcaster and writer of creative non-fiction. He is currently a lecturer on Swansea University
's Creative and Media Writing Programme.
Jenkins was brought up on a farm on the former Kilvrough estate in the Gower Peninsula
, and educated at the University of Essex
; he lives in Mumbles
, Swansea
. His early work can be found, with that of Tony Curtis
and Duncan Bush, in Three Young Anglo-Welsh Poets (1974). Since then he has published several collections of poetry. He won the Arts Council of Wales 1996 Book of the Year prize with his travel book Gwalia in Khasia (1995), and published a selection of his essays and articles as Footsore on the Frontier (2001). He is co-editor of The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales, published by the University of Wales Press
in 2008.
Poetry translated into the languages of and published in France, Germany, Hungary, Holland and Russia; in 1998, the Russian journal Literatura Innostranya (Foreign Literature) published a selection of his poems, in Russian translation, in a feature on his work.
Poetry also composed for public places, in response to commissions from various public bodies, and executed in stone, steel, neon, glass and other materials.
Jenkins' translations of modern Welsh poetry have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies worldwide, including The Bloodaxe Anthology of Modern Welsh Poetry (2003).
Countless articles, reviews and essays published in a wide range of newspapers, journals and magazines.
Swansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
's Creative and Media Writing Programme.
Jenkins was brought up on a farm on the former Kilvrough estate in the Gower Peninsula
Gower Peninsula
Gower or the Gower Peninsula is a peninsula in south Wales, jutting from the coast into the Bristol Channel, and administratively part of the City and County of Swansea. Locally it is known as "Gower"...
, and educated at the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
; he lives in Mumbles
Mumbles
Mumbles or The Mumbles is an area and community in Swansea, Wales which takes its name from the adjacent headland stretching into Swansea Bay...
, Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
. His early work can be found, with that of Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis (Welsh poet)
Tony Curtis FRSL is an Anglo-Welsh poet.Curtis was born in Carmarthen and educated at the University of Wales, Swansea. He subsequently studied for the MFA degree at Goddard College, Vermont, becoming the only British writer ever to graduate from that course.His debut in print was Three Young...
and Duncan Bush, in Three Young Anglo-Welsh Poets (1974). Since then he has published several collections of poetry. He won the Arts Council of Wales 1996 Book of the Year prize with his travel book Gwalia in Khasia (1995), and published a selection of his essays and articles as Footsore on the Frontier (2001). He is co-editor of The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales, published by the University of Wales Press
University of Wales Press
The University of Wales Press was founded in 1922 as a central service of the University of Wales. It publishes academic journals and around sixty books a year in the English and Welsh languages, based around a core of six subjects: History; Political Philosophy and Religious Studies;Welsh and...
in 2008.
Poetry Collections
- First Collection (Brighton, 1972).
- Three Young Anglo-Welsh Poets [with Tony Curtis and Duncan Bush] (Welsh Arts Council, 1974).
- Circus (Swansea Poetry Workshop, 1979).
- Song and Dance (Poetry Wales Press, Bridgend, 1981).
- Warhead (Megaton Press, Swansea, 1981).
- Practical Dreams (Galloping Dog Press, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1983).
- Common Ground, ed. Susan Butler [with Roland Mathias, Robert Minhinnick, John *Tripp, Gillian Clarke, Jeremy Hooker and Anne Stevenson] (Poetry Wales Press, Bridgend, 1985).
- Love is a Four-Letter Word [with Dave Hughes and Penny Windsor] (Lovebards Press, Swansea, 1988).
- Glas-Nos: Cerddi Dros Heddwch/Poems for Peace, ed. with Menna Elfyn (CND Cymru, Machynlleth, 1987)
- Acts of Union: Selected Poems 1974-1989 (Gomer Press, Llandysul, 1990).
- Six Cosmic Gnomes (Swansea City Council, 1991).
- The Works, ed. (Welsh Union of Writers, Cardiff, 1992).
- Khasia in Gwalia, ed., an anthology of poetry and prose from the Khasi Hills (Alun Books, Port Talbot, 1995).
- Remember Tomorrow, an audio tape of 37 poems (Gomer Press, Llandysul, 1997).
- Ambush (Gomer Press, Llandysul, 1998).
- A Body of Questions (Red Pagoda Press, Pennsylvania, 2002).
- Blue: 101 Haiku, Senryu and Tanka (Planet Books, Aberystwyth, 2002).
- Hotel Gwales (Gomer Press, Llandysul, 2006).
- O for a gun: 101 Haiku and Senryu (Planet Books, Aberystwyth, 2007).
Poetry translated into the languages of and published in France, Germany, Hungary, Holland and Russia; in 1998, the Russian journal Literatura Innostranya (Foreign Literature) published a selection of his poems, in Russian translation, in a feature on his work.
Poetry also composed for public places, in response to commissions from various public bodies, and executed in stone, steel, neon, glass and other materials.
Jenkins' translations of modern Welsh poetry have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies worldwide, including The Bloodaxe Anthology of Modern Welsh Poetry (2003).
Prose
- In a City Garden, an essay on the art of David Barron (Swansea Museum Services, Swansea, 1988).
- Gwalia in Khasia (Gwasg Gomer, Llandysul, 1995).
- Wales: the Lie of the Land, with the photographer Jeremy MooreJeremy MooreMajor General Sir John Jeremy Moore KCB, OBE, MC & Bar was the commander of the British land forces during the Falklands War in 1982. Moore received the surrender of the Argentine forces on the islands.-Military career:...
(Gomer Press, Llandysul, 1996). - Llangadog, an illustrated essay on Garn Goch Iron Age Hillfort, in the Gregynog Press's 'Places' series (1996).
- Literary Wales, an illustrated map commissioned by the Welsh Academy for the Wales Tourist Board (1997).
- Footsore on the Frontier: Selected Essays and Articles (Gomer Press, 2001).
- Through the Green Door: Travels Among the Khasis (Penguin, India, 2002).
- The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales, co-ed. (University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 2008)
- Real Swansea (Real Wales Series) (Seren, Bridgend, 2008).
- Gower, with the photographer David PearlDavid PearlDavid Stephen Pearl is a British lawyer and member of the Judicial Appointments Commission. He is the son of Rabbi Chaim Pearl....
(Gomer Press, Llandysul, 2009).
Countless articles, reviews and essays published in a wide range of newspapers, journals and magazines.
Criticism
- John TrippJohn Tripp (poet)John Tripp was an Anglo-Welsh poet and short-story writer.Born in Bargoed, Wales, he worked for the BBC as a journalist with the BBC, and later became a civil servant. He edited the literary magazine, Planet, and was a popular performance poet...
, a critical biography in the 'Writers of Wales' series (University of Wales Press, 1989). - Thirteen Ways of Looking at Tony ConranTony ConranTony Conran is a Welsh poet and translator of Welsh poetry. His own poetry is written in English but is very much influenced by Welsh language literature and Welsh culture and history. To some extent there are parallels in Conran's writing with that of R. S...
, edited and introduced (Welsh Union of Writers, 1995).
Plays
- Strike a Light!, toured by the Made in Wales Theatre Company in 1985.
- Waldo's Witness, performed by Coracle Theatre in 1986.
Radio and television scripts/presentation included
- Fields of Praise (a half hour documentary on the Urdd) for 'Kaleidoscope', BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, May 1987. - Gwalia yng Nghasia, a three-part documentary series for S4CS4CS4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
, March/April 1994. - TV Ballads: At Home, BBC WalesBBC WalesBBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
, 1995 and BBC 2, 1996. - Gwalia in Khasia, a one-hour documentary for BBC WalesBBC WalesBBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
(1995). - Kardomah Boys, about Dylan ThomasDylan ThomasDylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
and his fellow Swansea artists, in the BBC Wales 'Catalysts' series, September '97.
Prizes
- 1998: John Tripp Spoken Poetry Award.
- 1996: Welsh Arts Council's Book of the Year Award, for Gwalia in Khasia.
- 1991: John Morgan Writing Award (Welsh Writers' Trust).
- 1976: Eric Gregory Award for poetry (Society of Authors).
- 1974: Welsh Arts Council's Young Poets Prize.
- Two Welsh Arts Council bursaries.
Sources
- Centre for Research in to the English Literature and Language of Wales http://www.swan.ac.uk/english/crew/nigel_jenkins.htm
- Gomer PressGomer PressGomer Press is a printing and publishing company based in Llandysul, west Wales. The company was first established in 1892 and is owned by the same family to this day. Jonathan Lewis, the great grandson of the company's founder, is the current managing director...
http://www.gomer.co.uk/gomer/en/gomer.SearchBook/Author/588 - Swansea UniversitySwansea UniversitySwansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
: http://www.swan.ac.uk/english/postgrad/home.html - http://www.uwp.co.uk/news-detail-5.html