Jack Ross (writer)
Encyclopedia
Dr Jack Ross is a poet, novelist, translator, editor and lecturer in creative writing
. A trilogy of novels has been published by two different publishers, Alan Brunton's Bumper Books (Volume 1) and Titus Books (publisher)
.
. After completing degrees in English and Italian at the University of Auckland
, Ross was given a Commonwealth Scholarship
to study in the UK in 1986. He was awarded a PhD in English and Comparative Literature by the University of Edinburgh
in 1990 for a thesis on European Representations of South America. He is a Lecturer specialising in Academic and Creative Writing at Massey University
's Albany campus.
From 2002 to 2005 Ross was managing editor of the literary magazine brief. He has also edited other literary magazines, notably The Pander (co-editor 1998-99), Spin (co-editor 1999-2003), Landfall
(guest editor: issue 214, 2007), and Poetry NZ (guest editor: issue 38, 2008).
as "a leading contributor to the field of experimental writing in New Zealand",
Roger Horrocks described him as being in the "exciting alt. lit tradition of local writing". Mark Houlahan remarked in New Zealand Books [15 (2) (June, 2005): 14-15], that "Nobody else in New Zealand writes quite like Ross, though some of Bill Manhire
’s fictions in The New Land are precedents." Other reviewers have been less welcoming. "Not all the contents are evil, but the spirit of darkness certainly prevails," was Laurence Jenkins' verdict on his first novel Nights with Giordano Bruno [in JAAM 16 (2001): 185 et seq.], while Joe Wylie remarked, a propos of Monkey Miss Her Now: "Outside of literati farm, this sort of thing has a very limited life expectancy ... Can Ross move beyond this? Does he choose not to?" [Takahe 54 (2005) 63].
Jack Ross has also edited and co-edited a number of publications.
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
. A trilogy of novels has been published by two different publishers, Alan Brunton's Bumper Books (Volume 1) and Titus Books (publisher)
Titus Books (publisher)
Titus Books is an independent publisher based in Auckland, New Zealand. Founded in 2005, it was noted by reviewer Katherine Liddy in Landfall as an "exciting" addition to New Zealand literature....
.
Biography
Born on Auckland's North Shore, Ross was raised and educated in the East Coast BaysEast Coast Bays
East Coast Bays is the collective name for a series of small suburbs of North Shore City, in the Auckland metropolitan area of New Zealand, which line the northeast coast of the city along the shore of the Hauraki Gulf and Rangitoto Channel...
. After completing degrees in English and Italian at the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
, Ross was given a Commonwealth Scholarship
Commonwealth Scholarship
The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan is an international programme under which Commonwealth governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries.-History:...
to study in the UK in 1986. He was awarded a PhD in English and Comparative Literature by the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
in 1990 for a thesis on European Representations of South America. He is a Lecturer specialising in Academic and Creative Writing at Massey University
Massey University
Massey University is one of New Zealand's largest universities with approximately 36,000 students, 20,000 of whom are extramural students.The University has campuses in Palmerston North , Wellington and Auckland . Massey offers most of its degrees extramurally within New Zealand and internationally...
's Albany campus.
From 2002 to 2005 Ross was managing editor of the literary magazine brief. He has also edited other literary magazines, notably The Pander (co-editor 1998-99), Spin (co-editor 1999-2003), Landfall
Landfall (journal)
Landfall is New Zealand's oldest extant literary journal. First published in 1947 by Caxton Press, under the editorship of Charles Brasch, it features new fiction and poetry, biographical and critical essays, cultural commentary, and reviews of books, art, film, drama and dance.Additionally, the...
(guest editor: issue 214, 2007), and Poetry NZ (guest editor: issue 38, 2008).
Criticism
Ross was described by Richard Reeve in LandfallLandfall (journal)
Landfall is New Zealand's oldest extant literary journal. First published in 1947 by Caxton Press, under the editorship of Charles Brasch, it features new fiction and poetry, biographical and critical essays, cultural commentary, and reviews of books, art, film, drama and dance.Additionally, the...
as "a leading contributor to the field of experimental writing in New Zealand",
Roger Horrocks described him as being in the "exciting alt. lit tradition of local writing". Mark Houlahan remarked in New Zealand Books [15 (2) (June, 2005): 14-15], that "Nobody else in New Zealand writes quite like Ross, though some of Bill Manhire
Bill Manhire
William "Bill" Manhire, CNZM is an award-winning New Zealand poet, short story writer, and professor, New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate.-Biography:...
’s fictions in The New Land are precedents." Other reviewers have been less welcoming. "Not all the contents are evil, but the spirit of darkness certainly prevails," was Laurence Jenkins' verdict on his first novel Nights with Giordano Bruno [in JAAM 16 (2001): 185 et seq.], while Joe Wylie remarked, a propos of Monkey Miss Her Now: "Outside of literati farm, this sort of thing has a very limited life expectancy ... Can Ross move beyond this? Does he choose not to?" [Takahe 54 (2005) 63].
Works
- City of Strange Brunettes. ISBN 0-473-05446-9 (Auckland: Pohutukawa Press, 1998) [poems]
- (with Gabriel White) A Town like Parataxis. ISBN 0-473-07104-5 (Auckland: Perdrix Press, 2000) [poems / photos] http://mairangibay.blogspot.com/2008/10/town-like-parataxis.html
- Nights with Giordano Bruno. ISBN 0-9582225-0-9 (Wellington: Bumper Books, 2000) [novel (R.E.M. Trilogy, 1)] http://www.crywolfbooks.org/bruno.php
- (with Gabriel White) The Perfect Storm. ISBN 0-473-07350-1 (Auckland: Perdrix Press, 2000) [poems / video]
- The Writing Skills Workshop. prod. Robert van der Vyver (Otago University: Higher Education Development Centre, 2001) [workbook / video]
- Chantal's Book. ISBN 0-473-08744-8 (Wellington: HeadworX, 2002) [poems] http://headworx.eyesis.co.nz/poetry/chantal.php
- Monkey Miss Her Now. ISBN 0-476-00182-X (Auckland: Danger Publishing, 2004) [short stories]
- Trouble in Mind. ISBN 0-9582586-1-9 (Auckland: Titus Books, 2005) [novella] http://titus.books.online.fr/html/Trouble.html
- A Bus Called Mr Nice Guy. ISBN 0-473-10526-8 (Auckland: Perdrix Press, 2005) [poems / travelogue]
- The Imaginary Museum of Atlantis. ISBN 0-9582586-8-6 (Auckland: Titus Books, 2006) [novel (R.E.M. Trilogy, 2)] http://titus.books.online.fr/html/Atlantis.html
- To Terezín. Social and Cultural Studies, 8. ISSN 1175-7132 (Auckland: Massey University, 2007) [poems / travelogue] http://readingthemaps.blogspot.com/2007/06/to-terezin-and-back.html
- Papyri: Love Poems & Fragments from Sappho. ISBN 978-0-473-12397-0 (Auckland: Soapbox Press, 2007)
- EMO. ISBN 978-1-877441-07-3 (Auckland: Titus Books, 2008) [novel (R.E.M. Trilogy, 3)]
- The Return of the Vanishing New Zealander. ISBN 978-0-9864507-6-1. (Dunedin: Kilmog Press, 2009) [poems]
- Kingdom of Alt. ISBN 978-1-877441-15-8. (Auckland: Titus Books, 2010) [short stories / novella]
Jack Ross has also edited and co-edited a number of publications.