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- John Whitworth
B. 1945 D. 2019
The rhymes and the rhythms are my wet paint - John Whitworth
John Whitworth (1945-2019) was an English poet who was born in India. He began writing as an undergraduate at Oxford, and published nine collections, from Unhistorical Fragments (Secker & Warburg, 1980) to Girlie Gangs (Enitharmon, 2011). Whitworth’s poems have appeared in Poetry Review , London Magazine, The Spectator , and in major magazines in the United States and Australia. In 2007 he came second with ‘The Examiners’ in the Times Literary Supplement poetry competition, judged by Wendy Cope. He was the recipient of the Cholmondeley Award, The Silver Wyvern from Poetry on the Lake, and numerous other magazine prizes. He was also the author of a writing manual, Writing Poetry (A&C Black), now in its second edition.
A committed formalist, his work holds many of the delights of a type of Light Verse made most famous by the New Yorker in the mid 20 th Century: the accessibility of subject (often the minutiae of the everyday), the heavy rhymes, the dark and sinister themes that lurk beneath the jovial tone. His earlier works have been spoken of in terms of a ‘Betjemania’ before he took a more metaphysical turn, as with his prizewinning ‘The Examiners’, a set of elusive, omniscient beings who infiltrate and terrorize the private and public, the identity of whom Whitworth refuses to reveal. The speaker draws them out only through an incantatory build up of rhyme and repetition: ‘They confine us, then malign us, in the end they undermine us / They are there, they are there, they are there’.
Whitworth said he is ‘often looking for a kind of emotional colour rather than a meaning’, and in many cases the poems feel lead more by rhymes than philosophical ideas. Though he cites several American influences, including Wallace Stevens (a poet of light, magnificent rhymes), and Archibald Macleish – whose ‘ArsPoetica, and its imagist dictum – ‘a poem should not mean / but be’, is referenced in the introduction to this recording of ‘Reading the Bones’. His work is distinctly rooted in post-war Britain, with its tales of O Levels, ‘turned-up raincoat collars [ ] Woodie packs of ten’ and a love as strong as ‘a packet of vinegar crisp loves a lager and lime’ (‘Dog Days’).
Each poem recorded here is provided with a generous introduction ‘in a voice of energy and garrulity’ drawing on biographical and curious historical detail, as well as reflections on their differing composition: ‘The first line came drifting by me one early morning. The rest followed’. Indeed, ‘Reading of Bones’ illustrates the extent to which form (and its inflections) leads the writing process: as the ghost of Goering sitting became that ‘of Garbo knitting’. His crafted rhythms acquire further vibrancy in their reading, like ‘the sun of a little daughter’ animating ‘The Tower’ as she plays on it: ‘Beautiful like a ring, / Intricate, like a verse [ ] Ordering everything’.
John Whitworth’s favourite poetry sayings:
‘You must never get the idea that you’ll just try expressing your own private thoughts’ in Chinese characters. I’ll say it again: all inner demand for self-expression, all things related to ‘modern poetics, are forbidden.’ [JW: So who or what exactly is going to write the poem?] ‘Why, the words will, of course. Listen to what they have to say.’ Nitta Daisaku in How to Write Chinese Poetry
‘What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter ‘a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.’ Henri Matisse
‘A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.’ W.H. Auden
‘The use of [poetry’s] feigned history hath been to give some shadow of satisfaction to the mind of man in those points wherein the nature of things doth deny it.’ Francis Bacon
‘I write in rhyme and metre because… because that is what I do. That is the way poetry presents itself to me. I can’t write it any other way. I’m not at all sure I would want to, but even if I did want to I couldn’t.’ John Whitworth
This recording was made for The Poetry Archive on 27th February 2014 at ID Audio and was produced by John Green.
Poems by John Whitworth
by John Whitworth
The Tower - John Whitworth
Reading the bones, reading the bones - john whitworth, dog days - john whitworth, tobacco and boies, tobacco and boies - john whitworth, john whitworth in the poetry store, john whitworth downloads.
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Books by John Whitworth
Poor butterflies.
Secker & Warburg, 1982
Lovely day for a wedding
Secker & Warburg, 1985
Tennis and sex and death
Peterloo, 1989
Landscape with small humans
Peterloo, 1993
The Whitworth gun
Peterloo, 2002
Being the bad guy
Peterloo, 2007
Girlie gangs
Enitharmon, 2011
Joy in the morning
Kelsay, 2016
Cholmondeley Award
The Silver Wyvern, Poetry on the Lake
Eleanor Room Poetry Award Lamar University
Literary Review Poetry Prize
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Writing Poetry Paperback – 1 Jan. 2002
- Print length 160 pages
- Language English
- Publisher Bloomsbury Methuen Drama
- Publication date 1 Jan. 2002
- Dimensions 13.97 x 1.91 x 21.59 cm
- ISBN-10 0713658223
- ISBN-13 978-0713658224
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- Publisher : Bloomsbury Methuen Drama (1 Jan. 2002)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 160 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0713658223
- ISBN-13 : 978-0713658224
- Dimensions : 13.97 x 1.91 x 21.59 cm
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Writing Poetry
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- Publisher A & C Black Publishers Ltd
- Publication date 2006
- ISBN 10 0713674180
- ISBN 13 9780713674187
- Binding Paperback
- Edition number 2
- Number of pages 224
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- Print length 224 pages
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- Publisher : A & C Black Publishers Ltd; 2nd edition (1 January 2007)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 224 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0713674180
- ISBN-13 : 978-0713674187
- Item Weight : 286 g
- Dimensions : 13.6 x 1.8 x 21.3 cm
- Country of Origin : India
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John Whitworth (11 December 1945 - 20 April 2019) was a British poet.Born in India in 1945, he began writing poetry at Merton College, Oxford.He went on to win numerous prizes and publish in many highly regarded venues. He published twelve books: ten collections of his own work, an anthology of which he was the editor, and a textbook on writing poetry.
John Whitworth encourages the poet to write from experience and by showing poet's drafts demonstrates how the process from tentative start to finished poem is achieved. This new edition has been revised throughout and includes new chapters on poetry on the Internet, performance poetry and poetry festivals.
Beginning with what makes poetry, the author describes the different forms, how and what to start writing, finding an audience, getting published. John Whitworth encourages the poet to write from experience and by showing poet's drafts demonstrates how the process from tentative start to finished poem is achieved.
A wonderful, positive, practical handbook packed with advice, exercises and information. Beginning with what makes poetry, the author describes the different forms, how and what to start writing, finding an audience, getting published. John Whitworth encourages the poet to write from experience and by showing poet's drafts demonstrates how the process from tentative start to finished poem is ...
John Whitworth encourages the poet to write from experience and by showing poet's drafts demonstrates how the process from tentative start to finished poem is achieved. This new edition has been revised throughout and includes new chapters on poetry on the Internet, performance poetry and poetry festivals. 224 pages, Paperback.
John Whitworth (1945-2019) was an English poet who was born in India. He began writing as an undergraduate at Oxford, and published nine collections, from Unhistorical Fragments (Secker & Warburg, 1980) to Girlie Gangs (Enitharmon, 2011). Whitworth's poems have appeared in Poetry Review, London Magazine, The Spectator, and in major magazines in the United States and Australia.
In this practical handbook, the author begins with an evaluation of what makes poetry, how and what to start writing, finding an audience, and getting published. About the author (2006) John Whitworth has had nine volumes of poetry published and has also put together an anthology of poems for Faber & Faber.
Writing Poetry (Writing Handbooks) Paperback - 22 Mar. 2006. by John Whitworth (Author) 6. See all formats and editions. This is a positive, practical handbook packed with advice, exercises and information. Beginning with a definition of what makes poetry, the author goes on to describe the different forms, how and what to start writing ...
WRITING POETRY BY JOHN WHITWORTH , should, in my opinion be sub-titled: a poetry cookbook for gourmets and pie and chip merchants. There is much to savour, and much to mull over and all of it flavoured with Whitworth's bouncing enthusiasm for his subject. His knowledge and understanding of poetry are apparent in every line of the book, but it ...
John Whitworth encourages the poet to write from experience and by showing poet's drafts demonstrates how the process from tentative start to finished poem is achieved. This new edition has been revised throughout and includes new chapters on poetry on the Internet, performance poetry and poetry festivals.
This is a positive, practical handbook packed with advice, exercises and information.Beginning with a definition of what makes poetry, the author goes on to describe the different forms, how and what to start writing, finding an audience, and getting published.John Whitworth encourages the poet to write from experience and by showing poet's drafts demonstrates how the process from tentative ...
John Whitworth encourages the poet to write from experience and by showing poet's drafts demonstrates how the process from tentative start to finished poem is achieved. This new edition has been revised throughout and includes new chapters on poetry on the Internet, performance poetry and poetry festivals.
Famous poet / 1945-2019 John Whitworth. Whitworth's poetry career began at Merton College, Oxford, where he earned an MA and a B.Phil in English Literature. ... He also wrote a book about writing poetry, cleverly titled Writing Poetry (A&C Black, 2001), and was editor of the anthology 'Making Love to Marilyn Monroe: The Faber Book of Blue Verse ...
John Whitworth (1945-2019) We deeply regret to inform our readers that John Whitworth died on April 20, 2019 after a long illness, at age 73. ... John began writing poetry at Oxford. He was the author of ten collections of his own poetry, most recently Joy in the Morning (Kelsay, 2016).
This is a positive, practical handbook packed with advice, exercises and information. Beginning with a definition of what makes poetry, the author goes on to describe the different forms, how and what to start writing, finding an audience, and getting published. John Whitworth encourages the poet to write from experience and by showing poet's ...
This is a positive, practical handbook packed with advice, exercises and information. Beginning with a definition of what makes poetry, the author goes on to de…
Writing Poetry (Writing Handbooks) by Whitworth, John - ISBN 10: 0713674180 - ISBN 13: 9780713674187 - A & C Black Publishers Ltd - 2006 - Softcover ... John Whitworth has had nine volumes of poetry published and has also put together an anthology of poems for Faber & Faber. He teaches creative writing at Kent University.
However, please do persevere, I thought the remainder of the book was excellent. John Whitworth has a fabulous knowledge of the subject and introduces a wide range of wonderful poetry in an engaging and absorbing way. I particularly liked the section on how great poems had been edited and found his exercises fun.
Buy Writing Poetry By John Whitworth. Available in used condition with free delivery in the UK. ISBN: 9780713658224. ISBN-10: 0713658223
John Whitworth is the author of Writing Poetry (3.68 avg rating, 38 ratings, 3 reviews, published 2001), The Faber book of Blue Verse (3.38 avg rating, 2...
Writing poetry. Whitworth, John, 1945-Beginning with what makes poetry, the author describes the different forms, how and what to start writing, finding an audience and getting published ... John Whitworth has had nine volumes of poetry published and has also put together an anthology of poems for Faber & Faber. He teaches creative writing at ...
Buy Writing Poetry by John Whitworth from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.
John Whitworth has 36 books on Goodreads with 395 ratings. John Whitworth's most popular book is Seven Ages: Anthology of Poetry with Music / Various.