Patrick McGuinness (writer)
Encyclopedia
Patrick McGuinness is Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Oxford University, and is also known as a poet and novelist.
in 1968 to a Belgian French-speaking mother and an English father of Irish descent, he grew up in Venezuela
, Iran
, England, Belgium, Romania
.
s regime in Romania.
, an English literary critic and poet who was influenced by Bergson and who, in turn, had a strong influence on English modernism. He has also translated Stéphane Mallarmé
, a major symbolist poet, and edited an anthology in French of symbolist and decadent poetry.
He has edited the works of Marcel Schwob
, a French symbolist and short story writer, a friend of Oscar Wilde, and has written on the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans
.
McGuinness has also edited two volumes of the Argentinian-Welsh poet and novelist Lynette Roberts
, highly appreciated by T.S. Eliot and Robert Graves
. According to McGuinness, Roberts is "one of the greatest female war poets" whose works "constitutes one of the most imaginative poetic responses to modern war and the home front in the English language." McGuinness writes about Lynette Roberts:
In 2007 he published a poetry pamphlet, 19th Century Blues, which was a winner in The Poetry Business Book & Pamphlet Competition 2006.
His latest poetry collection is Jilted City, whose leitmotif
is memory, the jilted city, the cité trahie. A sequence in the book called Blue Guide is about the train journeys made by the young McGuinness on the historic railway line, la ligne 162, between Brussels
and Luxembourg
. This sequence has been translated into French by Gilles Ortlieb, in the review Théodore Balmoral. The whole collection has been translated into Italian by Giorgia Sensi and published with the title L'età della sedia vuota, the title of one of the poems in the book, as a homage to the female experience and perspective of war, an empty chair on the beach as a symbol of a violent and irrational absence.
Patrick McGuinness's first novel, The Last Hundred Days, was nominated for the Man Booker Prize in 2011. A thriller dealing with the collapse of communism, it is set in Ceaușescu's Romania, one of the most paranoid totalitarian regimes where spying on the citizens' private lives threatens all human relationships. The protagonist is an English student teaching in Bucharest
, where McGuinness himself lived in the years leading up to the revolution.
Life
Patrick McGuinness lives in Wales with his family. However, his life has been extremely exposed to different cultures and languages. Born in TunisiaTunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
in 1968 to a Belgian French-speaking mother and an English father of Irish descent, he grew up in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, England, Belgium, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
.
Work
McGuinness's production is divided between academic literary criticism and poetry. Recently he has published his first novel on the end of the CeaușescuNicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
s regime in Romania.
Literary criticism and academic work
Patrick McGuinness teaches French and Comparative Literature at St Anne's College, Oxford. Among his academic publications there is a study of T. E. HulmeT. E. Hulme
Thomas Ernest Hulme was an English critic and poet who, through his writings on art, literature and politics, had a notable influence upon modernism.-Early life:...
, an English literary critic and poet who was influenced by Bergson and who, in turn, had a strong influence on English modernism. He has also translated Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé , whose real name was Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of the early 20th century, such as Dadaism, Surrealism, and Futurism.-Biography:Stéphane...
, a major symbolist poet, and edited an anthology in French of symbolist and decadent poetry.
He has edited the works of Marcel Schwob
Marcel Schwob
Marcel Schwob was a Jewish French writer.-Biography:He was born in Chaville, Hauts-de-Seine on 23 August 1867...
, a French symbolist and short story writer, a friend of Oscar Wilde, and has written on the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans
Joris-Karl Huysmans
Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans was a French novelist who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans . He is most famous for the novel À rebours...
.
McGuinness has also edited two volumes of the Argentinian-Welsh poet and novelist Lynette Roberts
Lynette Roberts
Lynette Roberts was a Welsh poet, born Evelyn Beatrice Roberts in Buenos Aires to parents of Welsh extraction.-Life:...
, highly appreciated by T.S. Eliot and Robert Graves
Robert Graves
Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
. According to McGuinness, Roberts is "one of the greatest female war poets" whose works "constitutes one of the most imaginative poetic responses to modern war and the home front in the English language." McGuinness writes about Lynette Roberts:
Poetry and novel
McGuinness published his first poetry collection, The Canals of Mars, in 2004. The book was translated into Italian (2006). In 2009 Alexandra Buchler and Eva Klimentova translated McGuinness' poems from The Canals of Mars and 19th Century Blues into CzechIn 2007 he published a poetry pamphlet, 19th Century Blues, which was a winner in The Poetry Business Book & Pamphlet Competition 2006.
His latest poetry collection is Jilted City, whose leitmotif
Leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
is memory, the jilted city, the cité trahie. A sequence in the book called Blue Guide is about the train journeys made by the young McGuinness on the historic railway line, la ligne 162, between Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
. This sequence has been translated into French by Gilles Ortlieb, in the review Théodore Balmoral. The whole collection has been translated into Italian by Giorgia Sensi and published with the title L'età della sedia vuota, the title of one of the poems in the book, as a homage to the female experience and perspective of war, an empty chair on the beach as a symbol of a violent and irrational absence.
Patrick McGuinness's first novel, The Last Hundred Days, was nominated for the Man Booker Prize in 2011. A thriller dealing with the collapse of communism, it is set in Ceaușescu's Romania, one of the most paranoid totalitarian regimes where spying on the citizens' private lives threatens all human relationships. The protagonist is an English student teaching in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, where McGuinness himself lived in the years leading up to the revolution.
Awards
- 1998 Eric Gregory AwardEric Gregory AwardThe Eric Gregory Award is given by the Society of Authors to British poets under 30 on submission. The awards are up to a sum value of £24000 annually....
- 2001 Levinson Prize
- 2005 Roland Mathias PrizeRoland MathiasRoland Glyn Mathias , was a Welsh writer, known for his poetry and short stories. He was also a literary critic, and responsible with Raymond Garlick for the success of the literary magazine Dock Leaves , later from 1957 The Anglo-Welsh Review. He edited it from 1961 to 1976...
, shortlist, The Canals of Mars - 2006 Poetry Business Competition, 19th Century Blues
- 2009 Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques
- 2011 Costa Book Awards2011 Costa Book AwardsThe shortlists were announced on 16 November 2011. The winners in each category will be announced in January 2012.-Children's Book:Winner:*TBDShortlist:*Martyn Bedford, Flip*Frank Cottrell Boyce, The Unforgotten Coat...
, shortlist, The Last Hundred Days
See also
- SymbolismSymbolismSymbolism is the applied use of symbols. It is a representation that carries a particular meaning. It is a device in literature where an object represents an idea.A symbol is an object, action, or idea that represents something other than itself....
- ModernismModernismModernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
- Modernist poetryModernist poetryModernist poetry refers to poetry written between 1890 and 1950 in the tradition of modernist literature in the English language, but the dates of the term depend upon a number of factors, including the nation of origin, the particular school in question, and the biases of the critic setting the...
- VorticismVorticismVorticism, an offshoot of Cubism, was a short-lived modernist movement in British art and poetry of the early 20th century. It was based in London but international in make-up and ambition.-Origins:...
- Robert GravesRobert GravesRobert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
- Lynette RobertsLynette RobertsLynette Roberts was a Welsh poet, born Evelyn Beatrice Roberts in Buenos Aires to parents of Welsh extraction.-Life:...
- Marcel SchwobMarcel SchwobMarcel Schwob was a Jewish French writer.-Biography:He was born in Chaville, Hauts-de-Seine on 23 August 1867...
- Thomas Ernest Hulme
- Joris-Karl HuysmansJoris-Karl HuysmansCharles-Marie-Georges Huysmans was a French novelist who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans . He is most famous for the novel À rebours...
External links
- Patrick McGuinness webpage
- Guggenheim, Venice 2011 - Vorticism P. McGuinness