Cassandra Atherton is an Australian prose-poet, critic, and scholar. She is an expert on prose poetry, contemporary public intellectuals in academia, and poets as public intellectuals, especially hibakusha poets. She is married to historian Glenn Moore.

Academic and literary work

Atherton completed her Bachelor of Arts (Honours in English and History), Master of Arts, Graduate Diploma of Education, and PhD at The

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. She was supervised by Australian poet,

Chris Wallace-Crabbe Christopher Keith Wallace-Crabbe (born 6 May 1934) is an Australian poet and emeritus professor in the Australian Centre, University of Melbourne. Life and career Wallace-Crabbe was born in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond. His father was Ken ...

. She was Harvard Visiting Scholar in English in 2015–16, sponsored by

Stephen Greenblatt Stephen Jay Greenblatt (born November 7, 1943) is an American Shakespearean, literary historian, and author. He has served as the John Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University since 2000. Greenblatt is the general edit ...

, a visiting fellow at the Institute of Comparative Culture at Sophia University, Tokyo, in 2014, and an affiliate of the Japan Studies Centre at Monash University from 2015. She was an editorial advisor for

Australian Book Review ''Australian Book Review'' is an Australian arts and literary review. Created in 1961, ''ABR'' is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing. The aims of the magazine are 'to ...

in 2012–15 and is currently Poetry Editor of Westerly Magazine. Her prose-poetry has been widely anthologised in publications such as '' The Best Australian Poems'' (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017), the ''Hunter Anthology of Contemporary Australian Feminist Poetry'' (2016), the International Prose Poetry Project's anthologies ''Seams'' (2015), ''Pulse'' (2016) and ''Tract'' (2017) and ''Strange Cargo: Five Australian Poets'' published by Smith/Doorstop in the UK. Her prose poetry has been published in international journals, including ''

New Orleans Review ''New Orleans Review'', founded in 1968, is a journal of contemporary literature and culture that publishes "poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art, photography, film and book reviews" by established and emerging writers and artists. ''New Orleans Revie ...

'', ''Stoneboat Literary Journal'', Wisconsin, ''Stride Magazine'', United Kingdom, and ''Scrivener Creative Review'', Montreal. Readings of her poetry are collected on Penn Sound. Atherton was a judge of the

's Elizabeth Jolley Short Story awarding 2014; the

Victorian Premier's Literary Awards The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Government with the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry. As of 2013, it is reportedly Australia's richest literary p ...

: Prize for Poetry in 2015 and 2016, the

joanne burns Joanne Burns (born 5 December 1945 ) is a contemporary Australian poet and prose writer, with a strong emphasis on performance in her work. Biography Joanne Burns grew up and lives in Sydney. She studied at the University of Sydney and has ...

microlit award in 2016 and 2017, and Melbourne's Lord Mayor's Poetry Prize in 2016 and 2017. She has been awarded many grants and prizes, including a VicArts Grant (2016), an Australia Council Grant (2017), and Australian-Korean Foundation Grant (2016) ith Jessica L. Wilkinson and Dan Disneyand the Felix Meyer Fellowship. She received the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

Mary Schroeder Award for her interview with

Howard Zinn Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922January 27, 2010) was an American historian, playwright, philosopher, socialist thinker and World War II veteran. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a political scien ...

, the non-fiction Sanlane prize (United States) for ''In So Many Words'' and a Blanc Literary Prize (United Kingdom) for ''The Man Jar''. She is currently an Associate Professor in Writing and Literature at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...

where she received the Vice-Chancellor's Award for University Teacher of the Year. She is currently Head of Honours and Masters of Arts in Writing and Literature there. In 2017, Cassandra and

Paul Hetherington Paul Hetherington (born 6 March 1958) is an Australian poet and academic, who also worked for 19 years at the National Library of Australia. He is Professor of Writing at the University of Canberra where he heads the university's Internationa ...

signed an advance contract with Princeton University Press to write a book on prose poetry.

Themes

Atherton's

prose poetry Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form, while preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery, parataxis, and emotional effects. Characteristics Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associ ...

explores the reanimation of canonical texts against a backdrop of popular culture references. She appeals to humour noir and the politicisation of the poet's private spaces.

Geoff Page Geoffrey Donald Page (born 7 July 1940) is an Australian poet, translator, teacher and jazz enthusiast. He has published 22 collections of poetry, as well as prose and verse novels. Poetry and jazz are his driving interests, and he has also writ ...

writes: "Though many of the poems are anecdotal they also advance by sound associations and other aleatory devices. They tend to be seriously playful with a bent towards the satirical, even the self-mocking."

Critical response

Atherton is praised for her

, and is likened to masters of the form. Michael Farrell writes: "Cassandra Atherton’s nervy style is distinct from an earlier generation of prose poets (

Joanne Burns Joanne Burns (born 5 December 1945 ) is a contemporary Australian poet and prose writer, with a strong emphasis on performance in her work. Biography Joanne Burns grew up and lives in Sydney. She studied at the University of Sydney and has ...

Gary Catalano Gary Catalano (30 October 1947 – 8 December 2002) was an Australian poet and art critic. Life Calatano was born on 30 October 1947 in Brisbane. He married writer Helen Hewitt in 1990. He died on 8 December 2002 in Melbourne. Awards * 1992 Gra ...

Ania Walwicz Ania Walwicz (1951 – 29 September 2020) was an Australian poet, playwright, prose writer and visual artist. Early life Walwicz was born in Swidnica Polska, Swidnica, Poland where she spent her childhood, before migrating to Australia in 1963 ...

); it feels both post-punk and post-John Forbes." While others, such as Chloe Wilson, have praised her for exploring the fundamental question of any poet: "They are works in which the speaker, moving back and forth between text and experience, continually asks an unanswerable question: 'How do I write the space between my heart and my pen?'" While Atherton's prose poetry is informed by previous poets and investigates the anxiety of the artist, Ivy Ireland has observed dark humour in her collection of prose poetry, ''Exhumed'': "Dazzling, vibrant and terribly witty, ... ''Exhumed'' does not give itself over entirely to the horribly serious, gruesome images invoked by its title." Australian writer Kerryn Goldsworthy notes in a critique of Atherton's ''Trace'' (2015) that "The dense, intense prose is often funny, and incorporates all kinds of cultural allusions."

Collaboration

Atherton most often collaborates with artist and writer Phil Day and scholar and poet,

. She is currently engaged in collaborating on Sketch Notes 4 and 5 with Day and a series of artist's books with both Hetherington and Day. She was awarded a VicArts Grant (2016) to collaborate on writing a prose poetry

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

with Day and scholar/poet Alyson Miller, titled ''Pika-don''.

Bibliography

Critical Works

* ''Prose Poetry: An Introduction'', with Paul Hetherington, Princeton University Press, NJ (2020). * ''The Unfinished Atomic Bomb: Shadows and Reflections'' (New Studies in Modern Japan), David Lowe, Cassandra Atherton and Alyson Miller, eds. Lexington Books, Maryland, (2018) * ''Travelling Without Gods: A Chris Wallace-Crabbe Companion'', Cassandra Atherton (ed.), Melbourne University Press, Melbourne (2014) . * ''In So Many Words: Interviews with Writers, Scholars and Intellectuals'' (interviews with American intellectuals:

Harold Bloom Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was described as "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking wor ...

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...

Camille Paglia Camille Anna Paglia (; born April 2, 1947) is an American feminist academic and social critic. Paglia has been a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1984. She is critical of many aspects of modern cultur ...

, et al.), Australian Scholarly Publishing, Melbourne (2013) . * ''Flashing Eyes and Floating Hair: A Reading of Gwen Harwood's Pseudonymous Poetry'' (2007) . * ''Intersections: Gender and History'', Cassandra Atherton (ed.), Melbourne University Press, Melbourne (1997) .

Novels

*''The Man Jar,'' Printed Matter Press, Tokyo (2010).

Prose-poetry

*''The Heroic Age'', in 'Five Ages, Authorised Theft', Recent Work Press, Canberra (2021). hapbook*''Leftovers'', Gazebo Books, Potts Point (2020). *''Fugitive Letters'', Recent Work Press, Canberra (2020) with Paul Hetherington. *''Touch'', in 'The Six Senses, Authorised Theft', Recent Work Press, Canberra (2019). hapbook *''Pre-Raphaelite: and other prose poems'', Garron Publishing, Adelaide (2018). *''Pika-Don'' ith Phil Day and Alyson Miller Mountains Brown Press, Melbourne (2017). *''Yellow'', in 'Colours', Recent Work Press, Canberra (2017). hapbook*''Dilly Dally'' and ''Moon, oncertina books' Mountains Brown Press, Victoria (2016), with Phil Day (artist) and

(poet). rtist's book *''The Taoist Elements: Water'', International Poetry Studies Institute: Recent Work Press, Canberra (2016). hapbook*
Sketch-Notes Vol. (1, 2 & 3)
'' Mountains Brown Press, Victoria (2015), with

Phil Day (artist) Phil Day (born in August, 1973) is an Australian artist. He is formally recognised as a Notable GraduateMichael Agostino, The Australian National University School of Art: A history of the first 65 Years (Canberra, ANU, 2009), p. 243. from the ...

, rtist's book *''Exhumed'', Grand Parate Poets, New South Wales (2015) . *''Trace'', Finlay Lloyd, New South Wales (2015), illustrated by

. *''Pegs'', International Poetry Studies Institute: Authorised Theft, Canberra (2015). hapbook*''After Lolita'', Ahadada Books, Ontario (2010).

As editor

* ''Alcatraz'' (with Paul Hetherington), Gazebo Books, Sydney (2022). * ''The Language in My Tongue: An Anthology of Australian and New Zealand Poetry'' (with Paul Hetherington), MadHat Press, USA (2022). * ''Travel: An Anthology of Microlit'', Spineless Wonders, Sydney (2022). * ''Memory Book: Portraits of Older Australians in Poetry and Watercolours'' (with Jessica Wilkinson), Hunter Publishers, Brisbane (2021). * ''The Anthology of Australian Prose Poetry'', Melbourne University Press, Melbourne (2020). * ''Scars: An Anthology of Microlit'', Spineless Wonders, Sydney (2020). * ''Shuffle: An Anthology of Microlit'', Spineless Wonders, Strawberry Hills (2019). * ''Time: An Anthology of Microfiction and Prose Poems'', Strawberry Hills, NSW: Spineless Wonders (2018). * ''Landmarks: An Anthology of Microfiction and Prose Poems'', Strawberry Hills, NSW: Spineless Wonders (2017). * ''Cordite Poetry Review'' (with Paul Hetherington) (2016). * ''Rabbit: A Journal of Nonfiction Poetry,''(with Paul Hetherington) (2016). * ''Contemporary Women’s Writing,'' (with Jessica Wilkinson) (2016). * ''Axon: Creative Explorations,'' (with Antonia Pont) (2016). * ''Media International Australia,'' (with David Marshall) (2015). * ''Mascara Literary Review'' (2014). * ''Ekleksographica'' (2010).

References

External links

Official website

Deakin University Staff Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atherton, Cassandra Living people Writers from Adelaide University of Melbourne alumni 21st-century Australian poets Australian women poets 20th-century Australian poets Australian Book Review people Academic staff of Deakin University 21st-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian women writers Year of birth missing (living people)