John Jenkins

John Jenkins. Courtesy RainerLinz.net.

John Jenkins (born 1949) is an Australian poet, non-fiction author, and editor. He has authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited 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.

Life

Jenkins was born in Melbourne. He 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, in 1975. 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. His work has been featured on ABC Radio National's Airplay and Poetica series.

Writing

His 2008 collection, Growing Up With Mr Menzies, was described as "a complex, layered and original work".

Recognition

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 archives are at special collections, Academy Library, University of NSW at ADFA.

Publications

Poetry

• Zone of the White Wolf, and other landscapes. Armadale, Vic: Contempa, 1974.
• Blindspot. St Lucia, Qld: Makar Press, 1977.
• The Inland Sea: Poems. Brunswick, Vic: Brunswick Hills Press / Clifton, Qld: Rigmorale Books, 1984.
• Chromatic Cargoes: Poems. Elwood, Vic: Post Neo, 1986.
• Airborne Dogs, and other collaborations (with Ken Bolton). Melbourne: Brunswick Hills Press, 1988.
• The Ferrara Poems. (with Ken Bolton). Adelaide: Experimental Art Foundation, 1989.
• The Wild White Sea: Two poems. North Adelaide, SA: Little Esther Books, 1990.
• Days Like Air. North Fitzroy, Vic: Modern Writing Press, 1992.
• The Gutman Variations (with Ken Bolton). North Adelaide, SA: South Australian Publishing, 1993.
• The Wallah Group (with Ken Bolton). Adelaide: Little Esther Books, 2001.
• A Break in the Weather (verse novel). Northcote, Vic: Modern Writing Press, 2002.
• Nutters Without Fetters (with Ken Bolton). Berry, NSW: PressPress, [2002].
• Dark River: Poems. Woollongong, NSW: Five Islands Press, 2003.
• Poems of Relative Unlikelihood Adelaide: Little Esther Books, 2005.
• Growing Up With Mr Menzies. Elwood, Vic: John Leonard Press, 2008.
• Lucky for Some (with Ken Bolton). Adelaide: Little Esther Boosk, 2005.

Short fiction

• The Arthur Tantrum Letters (with Robert Harris, as "O. Der" and M. Slipteal"). Paddington, NSW: Stitch & Time / Little Slipder Press, 1975.

Non fiction

• Arias: Recent Australian music theatre. Red House Editions 1997.
• 22 Contemporary Australian Composers. Melbourne: NMA Publications, 1988.

Edited

• Dreamrobe Embroideries and Asparagus for Dinner (edited with Walter Billeter. Paper Castle, 1974.
• Cheeries & Quartermasters (edited with David Miller). Carleton, Vic: Paper Castle, 1975.
• The Outback Reader (edited with Michael Dugan). Fitzroy, Vic: Outback Press, 1975.
• Travelers' Tales of Old Cuba: From treasure island to mafia den. Melbourne & New York: Ocean Press, 2002 & 2010.

Marvellous Melbourne John Jenkins at TEDxUniMelb

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.

See also

• List of Australian poets

External links

Poems

• 'Cold Press,' ArtsRush magazine.
• John Jenkins (1949– ) in the Australian Poetry Library (149 poems).

Prose

• Essays and articles on poetry & writing

Audio / video

• Lobster and The Brick, long poem
• Radio play, synopsis of Under The Shaded Blossom, by John Jenkins.
• Poetica episodes featuring John Jenkins poetry.

About

• John Jenkins Official website.

Etc.

• Growing Up With Mr Menzies, quotes