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Peter Johnson

ピーター・ジョンソン

Peter Johnson

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1951-01-01 （Buffalo, New York）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Providence, Rhode Island (resident)

Career

Occupations
Poet, Novelist, Editor, College instructor
Active Years
1975-
Affiliations
Providence College (Department of English), The Prose Poem (founder/editor)
Influenced By
Bruce Smith

Education

State University of New York at Buffalo
English
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1970s
Year of Graduation: 1973
Country: United States
University of New Hampshire
English
Degree: M.A.
Period: 1970s
Year of Graduation: 1976
Country: United States
University of New Hampshire
English
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1970s–1980s
Year of Graduation: 1981
Country: United States

Awards

James Laughlin Award
2001
Work: Miracles & Mortifications
Organization: Academy of American Poets
Result: 受賞
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
1999
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: フェローシップ
Rhode Island Council on the Arts Creative Writing Award
2002
Organization: Rhode Island Council on the Arts
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Miracles & Mortifications

2001 Prose poetry

A collection of prose poems mixing humor and pathos, exploring existence and loss through everyday detail.

Everyday lifeHumor and sadnessExistential themes

Eduardo & "I"

2006 Poetry (prose poems)

A prose-poem collection examining relationships between self and others, addressing identity and alterity.

IdentityRelationships with others

Pretty Happy!

1997 Poetry

An early collection of poems noted for humorous and sharp observations.

Observation of daily lifeHumor

Love Poems for the Millennium

1998 Chapbook (poetry)

A short collection focusing on love and contemporary life.

LoveModernity

I'm A Man

1998 Chapbook (poetry/short fiction)

Contains short poems and stories dealing with gender and selfhood.

GenderSelf

What Happened

2007 Novel

A novel characterized by a narrative that pieces together memories and fragments of events.

MemoryInterpretation of events

Loserville

2009 Novel

A novel depicting youth, failure, and people on the margins of society.

YouthMarginalization

Selected short stories and poems

2003 Short stories/Poetry

A collection of short stories and poems published in various journals.

Short fictionPoetry

Bibliography

  • Pretty Happy! (1997)
  • Miracles & Mortifications (2001)
  • Love Poems for the Millennium (1998)
  • I'm A Man (chapbook, 1998)
  • Eduardo & "I" (2006)
  • What Happened (novel, 2007)
  • Loserville (novel, 2009)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Experimental prose-poem styleTone combining humor and pathos
Recurring Motifs
Fragments of daily lifeBody and mortalityRelations with others

Legacy

Known as a proponent of the prose poem, he has contributed to contemporary American poetry through his writing and editorial work, and has mentored younger writers as an educator.

Academic Societies

  • Academy of American Poets (awarding organization/affiliation)

Archives

  • Providence College-related archives (possible holdings)

Quotes

  • Because Peter Johnson does not guide himself either by the turns and counterturns of verse or the horizontal urge of prose, he must continually reinvent the wheel and its destination. He writes with a lover's lavish extravagance and a yogi's self-discipline. His funny poems are heartbreaking and his serious ones are hilarious.
    Source: Commentary by Bruce Smith (as cited in Wikipedia article)

Trivia

  • Founder and editor of The Prose Poem: An International Journal.
  • Teaches creative writing and children's literature at Providence College.
  • Won the James Laughlin Award in 2001.