Chris Torrance
Encyclopedia
Chris Torrance is a poet
and musician
associated with the British Poetry Revival
.
, Torrance grew up in London
and moved to rural Wales
in 1970. He has been teaching creative writing at the Cardiff University
since 1976. He performs literary cabaret with the poetry and music group Poetheat, which he co-founded in 1985 with composer Chris Vine and which is now called Heat Poets.
Torrance is a self-styled 'hippie
' and his work shows the influence of the Beats
, especially Gary Snyder
and an interest in the matter
and monuments of ancient Britain, including such 'magical' or religious phenomena as ley lines. He has also expressed an admiration for the writings of Charles Olson
and David Jones
.
Torrance has featured in a number of key Revival anthologies, including Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain
(1969), Conductors of Chaos (1996) and Other: British and Irish Poetry since 1970
(1999). His major work is the ongoing Magic Door sequence, of which seven books have been published to date.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
associated with the British Poetry Revival
British Poetry Revival
The British Poetry Revival is the general name given to a loose poetry movement in Britain that took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The revival was a modernist-inspired reaction to the Movement's more conservative approach to British poetry.-Beginnings:...
.
Biography
Born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Torrance grew up in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and moved to rural Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
in 1970. He has been teaching creative writing at the Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
since 1976. He performs literary cabaret with the poetry and music group Poetheat, which he co-founded in 1985 with composer Chris Vine and which is now called Heat Poets.
Torrance is a self-styled 'hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
' and his work shows the influence of the Beats
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
, especially Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder is an American poet , as well as an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist . Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry...
and an interest in the matter
Matter of Britain
The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the body of literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and its legendary kings, particularly King Arthur...
and monuments of ancient Britain, including such 'magical' or religious phenomena as ley lines. He has also expressed an admiration for the writings of Charles Olson
Charles Olson
Charles Olson , was a second generation American modernist poet who was a link between earlier figures such as Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams and the New American poets, which includes the New York School, the Black Mountain School, the Beat poets, and the San Francisco Renaissance...
and David Jones
David Jones (poet)
David Jones CH was both a painter and one of the first generation British modernist poets. As a painter he worked chiefly in watercolor, painting portraits and animal, landscape, legendary and religious subjects. He was also a wood-engraver and designer of inscriptions. As a writer he was...
.
Torrance has featured in a number of key Revival anthologies, including Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain
Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain
Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain, an anthology of poetry, was edited by Michael Horovitz and published by Penguin Books in 1969...
(1969), Conductors of Chaos (1996) and Other: British and Irish Poetry since 1970
Other: British and Irish Poetry since 1970
Other: British and Irish Poetry since 1970 is a poetry anthology edited by Richard Caddel and Peter Quartermain, and published in 1999 by Wesleyan University Press...
(1999). His major work is the ongoing Magic Door sequence, of which seven books have been published to date.
Selected publications
- Torrance, Chris; Torrance, Val (1973) Acrospirical Meanderings in a Tongue of the Time, London, Albion Village Press
- Citrinas (The Magic Door, Book 2) (1977), London, Albion Village Press
- The Rainbringer (1977), Newcastle upon Tyne, Pig Press; 2nd revised edition, 1978. ISBN 0-903997-38-X
- Heat Sonnets (1979), Newcastle upon Tyne, Pig Press. ISBN 0-903977-42-8
- The diary of Palug's Cat (The Magic Door, Book 3) (1980) , Newcastle upon Tyne, Galloping Dog Press', ISBN 0-904837-24-6; also Swansea, Stone Lantern Audiobook on tape oclc=20672978
- The Book of Brychan (The Magic Door, Book 4) (1982), Newcastle upon Tyne, Galloping Dog Press; illustrations and cover design by Robin Campbell
- Cylinder Fragments of the Twentieth Century (1982), Neath, Cwm Nedd Press, ISBN-13: 9780906244128
- The Slim Book/Wet Pulp (The Magic Door, Book. 5) (1986), Swansea, Stone Lantern Press
- Southerly Vector/The Book Of Heat - Further Books of the Magic Door (1996), Neath, Cwm Nedd Press, ISBN 0-906244-27-7
- The Book of Heat CD, Chris Torrance-Words, Chris Vine-Music(1998), Innerstar; rerelease 2003
- Wobbly Chair (2003), Dinas Powys, Canna Press
- Frinite CD, Chris Torrance-Words, Chris Vine-Music (2004) Dinas Powys, Canna Press
- Hare Pie, card designed by Deidre Farrell (2007), signed by artist and author, Dinas Powys, Canna Press