Neil Aitken (born 1974 in
Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
) is a Canadian poet, editor, and translator. He founded ''Boxcar Poetry Review.''
His first book, ''The Lost Country of Sight'', won the 2007 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry.
Biography
Early life and education
Aitken was born in Vancouver in 1974 and was raised in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
His father was of Scottish and English descent and his mother was of Chinese descent.
He had a younger sister.
He attended elementary and secondary school in
Regina.
Throughout high school, he enjoyed painting.
As an undergraduate, he studied Computer Engineering with a minor in Mathematics.
He worked as a computer games programmer for several years.
In 2004, he quit his position to study at the
University of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...
, where he earned an MFA.
He earned a PhD in Literature & Creative Writing from the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
.
Literature career
Aitken's first book, ''The Lost Country of Sight'', won the 2007 Philip Levine Prize.
In 2016, he published ''Babbage’s Dream'', a semi-finalist for the Anthony Hecht Prize.
He founded ''Boxcar Poetry Review''.
Aitken and Chinese poet-translator Ming Di translated ''The Book of Cranes: Selected Poems of Zang Di.''
In 2011, Aitken was awarded the DJS Translation Prize for "his translations of contemporary Chinese poetry."
See also
*
Canadian literature
Canadian literature is the literature of a multicultural country, written in languages including Canadian English, Canadian French, Indigenous languages, and many others such as Canadian Gaelic. Influences on Canadian writers are broad both ge ...
*
Canadian poetry
Canadian poetry is poetry of or typical of Canada. The term encompasses poetry written in Canada or by Canadian people in the official languages of English and French, and an increasingly prominent body of work in both other European and Indigenou ...
*
List of Canadian poets
This is a list of Canadian poets. Years link to corresponding "earin poetry" articles.
A
*Mark Abley (born 1955), poet, journalist, editor, and non-fiction writer.
*Milton Acorn (1923–1986), poet, writer, and playwright
* José Acquelin ...
*
List of Canadian writers
This is a list of Canadian literary figures, including poets, novelists, children's writers, essayists, and scholars.
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aitken, Neil
1974 births
Living people
Canadian male poets
Canadian people of Chinese descent
Canadian people of Scottish descent
Canadian people of English descent
Writers from Vancouver
University of California, Riverside alumni
University of Southern California alumni
21st-century Canadian poets
21st-century Canadian male writers
Canadian male non-fiction writers
21st-century Canadian translators
Canadian writers of Asian descent