Ken Smith (4 December 1938
Rudston
Rudston is a small village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Driffield and Bridlington approximately west of Bridlington, and lies on the B1253 road. The Gypsey Race (an intermittent stream) ru ...
,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
– 27 June 2003) was a British
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
.
Life
The son of a farm labourer, Smith had an itinerant childhood. He attended
Leeds University
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
and studied with
Geoffrey Hill
Sir Geoffrey William Hill, FRSL (18 June 1932 – 30 June 2016) was an English poet, professor emeritus of English literature and religion, and former co-director of the Editorial Institute, at Boston University. Hill has been considered to be ...
where fellow students included
Tony Harrison
Tony Harrison (born 30 April 1937) is an English poet, translator and playwright. He was born in Beeston, Leeds and he received his education in Classics from Leeds Grammar School and Leeds University. He is one of Britain's foremost verse w ...
and
Jon Silkin
Jon Silkin (2 December 1930 – 25 November 1997) was a British poet.
Early life
Jon Silkin was born in London, in a Litvak Jewish family, his parents were Joseph Silkin and Doris Rubenstein. His grandparents were all from the Lithuanian- par ...
.
With
Silkin, he later co-edited ''Stand'' magazine, from 1963 to 1972.
Moving to America in 1969, he taught at
Slippery Rock State College,
College of the Holy Cross, and
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...
.
He returned to England in 1973, teaching at
Leeds University
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
as the Yorkshire Arts Association Creative Writing Fellow from 1976 to 1978.
In 1977 he founded the ''South West Review'' literary magazine and remained the editor until 1979.
He married Annie Minnis in 1960; they had one son and two daughters, but the marriage dissolved. In 1981, he married the poet and artist Judi Benson; he thus became stepfather to her son.
In 2018 ''Stand Magazine''
published a special Ken Smith celebration issue for what would have been his 80th birthday.
Awards
* 1964 Gregory Award for ''The Pity''
Lannan Award 1997
* 1998
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 be ...
Works
Poetry
* ''Eleven Poems.'' Northern House. 1964.
* ''The Pity.'' Jonathan Cape 1967.
*
* ''Tristan Crazy'', Bloodaxe, 1978. .
* ''Tales of the Hunter''. Four Zoas. 1979.
* ''Grainy Pictures of the Rain''. Truedog Press. 1981. .
* ''Abel Baker Charlie Delta Epic Sonnets''. Bloodaxe. 1981. .
*
*
*
*''The House Of Numbers''. Rolling Moss Press. 1985.
*
*''A Book Of Chinese Whispers''. Bloodaxe. 1987. .
*
*
*
*
*''Wire Through The Heart''. Ister. 2001.
*
*
Prose
* ''Frontwards In A Backwards Movie''. Arc Publications. 1974. .
* ''Anus Mundi''. Four Zoas. 1976.
* ''Ten Poets In Leeds'' (programme notes for readings at Leeds Playhouse). 1978.
* ''The Joined Up Writing''. the x press. 1980.
* ''The Queen's Dreams'' (short story) Harry Novak Books. 1986.
* ''Inside Time'' (with Dave Wait). Harrap. 1989.
*
Editor
*
References
External links
"Ken Smith - Poetry Quartets", ''British council Arts''* Archival material a
Leeds University Library*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ken
1938 births
2003 deaths
People from Bridlington
Alumni of the University of Leeds
British male poets
20th-century British poets
20th-century English male writers
Writers from Leeds