Chris Emery, also known as Chris Hamilton-Emery (born 23 November 1963), is a British poet and literary publisher.
Biography
Emery was born and grew up in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England, and went to a convent-run primary school in
New Moston
New Moston is a suburb of Manchester, England.
Historically in Lancashire, it lies four and a half miles north east of Manchester city centre, between Moston, Failsworth and Chadderton.
New Moston Primary School was founded in 1901. New Mo ...
before attending grammar school in
Prestwich
Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury.
Historically part of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ancient parish o ...
. It was following this that he began to study sculpture, painting and printmaking. He continued at Manchester College of Art and Design before taking a degree at
Leeds Polytechnic
Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The unive ...
, graduating in 1986. He subsequently destroyed all his art work, and began to focus upon his writing.
After a brief attempt to train as an art teacher, Emery began work in a variety of jobs: insurance clerk, an administrator in a haematology department, a data manager in an oncology department, an information designer in public transport, and design manager at the
British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
, before embarking on a publishing career — ending up as a director at Cambridge University Press. He left to concentrate on writing and literary publishing in 2002.
Emery's poetry began appearing in journals throughout the 1990s including ''The Age'', ''Jacket'', ''Magma'', ''Poetry London'', ''Poetry Review'', ''Poetry Wales'', ''PN Review'', ''Quid'' and ''The Rialto''. He was anthologised in ''New Writing 8'' in 1999. A pamphlet, ''The Cutting Room'', was published by Barque in 2000. A first full-length poetry collection
''Dr. Mephisto'' was published by Arc in 2002. He has travelled to perform his work in the US and Australia. A second full-length collection of poetry
''Radio Nostalgia'' was published b
Arc Publicationsin 2006. He was anthologised in ''Identity Parade: New British & Irish Poets'' (Bloodaxe, 2010), edited By Roddy Lumsden. Emery is a contributor to ''The Cambridge Companion to Creative Writing'', edited by David Morley and Philip Neilsen (CUP, 2012). A third collection of poetry
''The Departure'' was published b
Saltin 2012.
Emery's poetry is characterised by a
dystopian
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
vision of the world, the use of varied personae, an exuberant vocabulary, black humour and dramatic changes in register and tone. His work can shift between mainstream poetics and wild experimentation, often combining both within a single volume. His central themes appear to be the incongruousness of moral experience within modern society, the collapse or eradication of identity, and non-spiritual or secular redemption.
He is also the author of a writers’ guide on publishing and marketing poetry
101 Ways to Make Poems Sell
Working as Chris Hamilton-Emery, he is a Director of
Salt Publishing
Salt Publishing is an independent publisher whose origins date back to 1990 when poet John Kinsella launched ''Salt Magazine'' in Western Australia. The journal rapidly developed an international reputation as a leading publisher of new poetry ...
an independent literary press based in
Cromer
Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline.
The local government authorities are Nor ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He was awarded an
American Book Award
The American Book Award is an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "the ...
in 2006
2006 ABA winners
for his services to American literature. Hamilton-Emery has sat on the Boards of the Independent Publishers Guild
The Independent Publishers Guild (IPG), founded in 1962, is an association set up to support the needs of independent firms in the publishing industry in the United Kingdom, with a current membership of more than 600 companies. The IPG is a not-for ...
and Planet Poetry, and occasionally works as a consultant in the publishing industry in the United Kingdom. He lives in Cromer
Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline.
The local government authorities are Nor ...
with his wife and three children.
Bibliography
Poetry
*''The Cutting Room
The Cutting Room is a music venue in New York City that was open at 19 West 24th Street from late 1999 through January 2009 for music of all varieties and reopened at the beginning of 2013 in a new location at 44 East 32nd Street. It was co-owned ...
'' (Barque Press, 2000)
*''Dr. Mephisto
'' South Park'' is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. The ongoing narrative revolves around five children, Stan Marsh, Eric Cartman, Kyle Broflovski, Kenny M ...
'' (Arc Publications, 2002)
*'' Radio Nostalgia'' (Arc Publications, 2006)
*''The Departure
The Departure was an English rock band from Northampton, formed in October 2003. Their debut album, '' Dirty Words'', was released 13 June 2005 by Parlophone. A second album, ''Inventions'', was expected to be released in early 2008, but was no ...
'' (Salt Publishing, 2012)
Non-fiction
*'' 101 Ways to Make Poems Sell'' (Salt Publishing, 2006)
As editor
*'' Poets in View: A Visual Anthology of 50 Classic Poems'' (Salt Publishing, 2008)
*'' Emily Brontë: The Visionary and Other Poems'' (Salt Publishing, 2009)
*'' John Keats: Ode to Psyche and Other Poems'' (Salt Publishing, 2009)
*'' Christina Rossetti: Goblin Market and Other Poems'' (Salt Publishing, 2009)
Websites and online resources
Chris Emery's website
'
Salt Publishing
'
Chris Emery’s MySpace profile
'
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emery, Chris
1963 births
Living people
Writers from Manchester
Alumni of Leeds Beckett University
British publishers (people)
English male poets
American Book Award winners