John Burnside

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(born 19 March 1955) is a Scottish writer. He is one of only three poets (the others being

Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...

and Sean O'Brien) to have won both the

T. S. Eliot Prize The T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is a prize that was, for many years, awarded by the Poetry Book Society (UK) to "the best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland" in any particular year. The Priz ...

and the

Forward Poetry Prize The Forward Prizes for Poetry are major British awards for poetry, presented annually at a public ceremony in London. They were founded in 1992 by William Sieghart with the aim of celebrating excellence in poetry and increasing its audience. The ...

for the same book (''Black Cat Bone'').

Life and works

Burnside was born in

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

and raised in

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...

and

Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of 5 ...

. He studied English and European Thought and Literature at

Cambridge College of Arts and Technology Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...

. A former computer software engineer, he has been a freelance writer since 1996. He is a former Writer in Residence at the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee; . Abbreviated as ''Dund.'' for post-nominals. is a public university, public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a University college#United Kingdom, university college in 1881 with a donation ...

and is now Professor in Creative Writing at

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, where he teaches creative writing, literature and ecology and American poetry. His first collection of poetry, ''The Hoop'', was published in 1988 and won a

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council ( gd, Comhairle Ealain na h-Alba, sco, Scots Airts Cooncil) was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the ...

Book Award. Other poetry collections include ''Common Knowledge'' (1991), ''Feast Days'' (1992), winner of the

Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize The Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize is a British literary prize established in 1963 in tribute to Geoffrey Faber, founder and first Chairman of the publisher Faber & Faber. It recognises a single volume of poetry or fiction by a United Kingdom, Irish ...

, and ''The Asylum Dance'' (2000), winner of the

Whitbread Poetry Award The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

and shortlisted for both the

(Best Poetry Collection of the Year) and the

. ''The Light Trap'' (2001) was also shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize. His 2011 collection, ''Black Cat Bone'', was awarded The Forward Prize and the T.S. Eliot Prize. Burnside is also the author of two collections of short stories, ''Burning Elvis'' (2000), and ''Something Like Happy '' (2013), as well as several novels, including ''The Dumb House'' (1997), ''The Devil's Footprints'', (2007), ''Glister'', (2009) and ''A Summer of Drowning'', (2011). His multi-award winning memoir, ''A Lie About My Father'', was published in 2006 and its successor ''Waking Up In Toytown'', in 2010. A further memoir, ''I Put A Spell On You'' combined personal history with reflections on romantic love, magic and popular music. His short stories and feature essays have appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

The London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published twice monthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of ...

'', among others. He also writes an occasional nature column for ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

''. In 2011 he received the

Petrarca-Preis Petrarca-Preis was a European literary and translation award named after the Italian Renaissance poet Francesco Petrarca or Petrarch. Founded in 1975 by German art historian and publisher Hubert Burda, it was primarily designed for contemporary ...

, a major German international literary prize. Burnside's work is inspired by his engagement with nature, environment and

deep ecology Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy that promotes the inherent worth of all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs, and the restructuring of modern human societies in accordance with such ideas. Deep ecolo ...

. His collection of short stories,
Something Like Happy
', was published in 2013. He is a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

(elected in 1999) and in March 2016 was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

, Scotland's National Academy for science and letters. He also lectures annually and oversees the judging of the writing prize at The Alpine Fellowship.

Awards

*1988

Scottish Arts Council Book Award The Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards, formerly known as the Scottish Arts Council Book Awards, were a series of literary awards in Scotland that ran from 1972 to 2013. Organised by Creative Scotland (formerly the Scottish Arts Counci ...

, for ''The Hoop'' *1991 Scottish Arts Council Book Award, for ''Common Knowledge'' *1994

, for ''Feast Days'' *1999

Encore Award The £10,000 Encore Award for the best second novel was first awarded in 1990. It is sponsored by Lucy Astor. The award fills a niche in the catalogue of literary prizes by celebrating the achievement of outstanding second novels, often neglecte ...

for ''The Mercy Boys'' *2000

(Best Collection – shortlist), for ''The Asylum Dance'' *2000

(shortlist), for ''The Asylum Dance'' *2000

Whitbread Book Award The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

, Poetry Award, for ''The Asylum Dance'' *2002

Saltire Society The Saltire Society is a membership organisation which aims to promote the understanding of the culture and heritage of Scotland. Founded in 1936, the society was "set up to promote and celebrate the uniqueness of Scottish culture and Scotland’s ...

Scottish Book of the Year Award (shortlist), for ''The Light Trap'' *2002

(shortlist), for ''The Light Trap'' *2005

(Best Collection - shortlist), for ''The Good Neighbour'' *2006

Scottish Book of the Year Award for ''A Lie About My Father'' *2008

Cholmondeley Award The Cholmondeley Awards () are annual awards for poetry given by the Society of Authors in the United Kingdom. Awards honour distinguished poets, from a fund endowed by the Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley in 1966. Since 1991 the award has bee ...

*2011

PEN/Ackerley prize PEN Ackerley Prize (or, J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography) is awarded annually by English PEN for a literary autobiography of excellence, written by an author of British nationality and published during the preceding year. The winner receiv ...

(shortlist) for ''Waking Up in Toytown'' *2011

Corine Literature Prize The Corine – International Book Prize, as it is officially called, is a German literature prize created by the Bavarian chapter of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, first awarded in 2001. It is awarded to German and international "aut ...

for ''A Lie About My Father'' *2011

Forward Prize The Forward Prizes for Poetry are major British awards for poetry, presented annually at a public ceremony in London. They were founded in 1992 by William Sieghart with the aim of celebrating excellence in poetry and increasing its audience. The ...

for ''Black Cat Bone'' *2011

Costa Book Awards The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

(Novel), shortlist, ''A Summer of Drowning'' *2011

for ''Black Cat Bone'' *2012: Spycher: Literaturpreis Leuk with Judith Schalansky *2017: Hörspiel des Jahres für Coldhaven, translation. composition and directing: Klaus Buhlert (SWR) *2018:

Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden The Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden (War Blinded Audio Play Prize), also known as the Kriegsblindenpreis (War Blinded Prize) is the most important literary prize granted to playwrights of audio plays written in the German language. The award was e ...

für Coldhaven. translation. composition and directing: Klaus Buhlert (SWR)

Bibliography

Poetry collections

* ''The Hoop'' (Carcanet, 1988) * ''Common Knowledge'' (Secker and Warburg, London, 1991) * ''Feast Days'' (Secker and Warburg, London, 1992) * ''The Myth of the Twin'' (Jonathan Cape, London, 1994) * ''Swimming in the Flood'' (Jonathan Cape, London, 1995) * ''Penguin Modern Poets'' (Penguin, 1996) * ''A Normal Skin'' (Jonathan Cape, London, 1997) * ''The Asylum Dance'' (Jonathan Cape, London, 2000) * ''The Light Trap'' (Jonathan Cape, London, 2002) * '' A Poet's Polemic'' (2003) * ''The Good Neighbour'' (Jonathan Cape, 2005) * ''Selected Poems'' (Jonathan Cape, 2006) * ''Gift Songs'' (Jonathan Cape, 2007) * ''The Hunt in the Forest'' (Jonathan Cape, 2009) * ''Black Cat Bone'' (Jonathan Cape, 2011) * ''All One Breath'' (Jonathan Cape, 2014) * ''Still Life with Feeding Snake'' (Jonathan Cape, 2017) * ''In the Name of the Bee/ Im Namen der Biene'' (Golden Luft, Mainz 2018) * ''Learning to Sleep'' (Jonathan Cape, 2021) *
Apostasy
' (Dare-Gale Press, 2022)

Fiction

* ''The Dumb House'' (Jonathan Cape, London, 1997) * ''The Mercy Boys'' (Jonathan Cape, London, 1999) * ''Burning Elvis'' (Jonathan Cape, London, 2000) * ''The Locust Room'' (Jonathan Cape, London, 2001) * ''Living Nowhere'' (Jonathan Cape, London, 2003) * ''The Devil's Footprints'' (Jonathan Cape, 2007) * ''The Glister'' (Jonathan Cape, 2008) * ''A Summer of Drowning'' (Jonathan Cape, 2011) * ''Something Like Happy'' (Jonathan Cape, 2013) * ''Ashland & Vine'' (Jonathan Cape, 2017) * ''Havergey'' (Little Toller, 2017)

Non-Fiction

* ''Wild Reckoning'' (Gulbenkian, 2004), joint editor with Maurice Riordan of this anthology of ecology-related poems * ''A Lie About My Father'' (Biography, 2006) * ''Wallace Stevens : poems / selected by John Burnside'' (Poet to Poet Series, Faber and Faber, 2008) *''Waking up in Toytown'' (Biography, Jonathan Cape, 2010) * ''I Put a Spell on You'' (Biography, Jonathan Cape, 2014) * * ''The Music of Time: Poetry in the Twentieth Century'' (Literary Criticism, 2019) * ''Aurochs and Auks: Essays on mortality and extinction'' (Little Toller Books, 2021)

Screen

* ''

Dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing g ...

'' (with A. L. Kennedy), a series for television, produced by Cité-Amérique, Canada

Critical studies and reviews of Burnside's work

*'Dwelling Places : An Appreciation of John Burnside', special edition of ''Agenda Magazine,'' Vol 45 No 4/Vol 46 No 1, Spring/Summer 2011 * Review of ''All one breath''.

Footnotes

External links

Short essay in November 2011 issue of The New Humanist

John Burnside at The New Statesman

Profile at the Poetry Archive

Profile at the British Council

Guardian profile and article listing

Scottish Arts Council September 2004 Poem of the Month
: " hommage to

Kåre Kivijärvi Kåre Kivijärvi (born 23 April 1938 in Hammerfest - 20 November 1991) was a Norwegian photographer known for his photojournalistic work in Northern Norway. Kivijärvi was born into a Kven family and always professed a connection to his ethnic her ...

"
Biography on the Scottish Poetry Library website, with recordings of him reading his poems, and links to poem texts

What We (non)Believe: Reading Poems by Charles Wright, John Burnside, and Kevin Hart
from ''Cordite Poetry Review'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnside, John 1955 births Living people Academics of the University of St Andrews Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature British columnists Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University People from Cowdenbeath People from Corby 20th-century Scottish poets 21st-century Scottish poets 21st-century British male writers Scottish male poets Poets associated with Dundee People associated with the University of Dundee Writers of Gothic fiction 20th-century British male writers T. S. Eliot Prize winners