Impatiens

by | Dec 19, 2023 | Impatiens

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W. N. Herbert FRSL, also known as Bill Herbert (born 1961) is a poet from Dundee, Scotland. He writes in both English and Scots. He and Richard Price founded the poetry magazine Gairfish. He currently teaches at Newcastle University.[1]

Early life

Herbert was born in 1961 in Dundee. He was educated at Grove Academy and then studied at Brasenose College, Oxford gaining a Doctor of Philosophy in 1992 after completing a thesis on the work of Hugh MacDiarmid.[2]

Career

In 1994, he was one of 20 poets chosen by a panel of judges, as the New Generation in a promotion organised by the Poetry Society.[3] He was one of the writers involved in the Informationist poetry movement that emerged in Scotland in the 1990s.

He became a Professor of Poetry & Creative Writing at the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics, Newcastle University.[4]

In September 2013, Herbert was appointed as Dundee's first makar.[5]

Awards and honours

He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2015.[6]

Books

Poetry collections

  • Dundee Doldrums (1991)
  • The Testament of the Reverend Thomas Dick (1994)
  • Cabaret McGonagall (1996)
  • The Laurelude (1998)
  • The Big Bumper Book of Troy (2002)
  • Bad Shaman Blues (2006) [7]
  • Three Men on the Metro, with Andy Croft and Paul Summers, Five Leaves (2009)[8]
  • Omnesia (2013) [9]
  • The Wreck of the Fathership (2020)

Literary criticism

  • To Circumjack MacDiarmid (1992)

References

  1. ^ Lindsay, Maurice; Duncan, Lesley, eds. (2005), The Edinburgh Book of Twentieth-Century Scottish Poetry, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 385–386, ISBN 0-7486-2015-X
  2. ^ "Poetry: Poets A to Z: W. N. Herbert". Scottish Poetry Library. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  3. ^ Lister, David (13 January 1994). "New generation of writers presents poetry in motion: Some of today's best poetic talents tend to eschew writing of love". The Independent. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  4. ^ "English Literature, Languages and Linguistics: Staff". Newcastle University. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  5. ^ Cowing, Emma (15 September 2013). "Dundee appoints WN Herbert as first maker". The Scotsman. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Current RSL Fellows". Royal Society of Literature. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  7. ^ O’Brien, Sean (19 February 2006). "The secret weapon of his generation". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  8. ^ "Three Men on the Metro". P. N. Review 197. January 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  9. ^ Kelly, Stuart (30 March 2013). "Book review: Omnesia by WN Herbert". The Scotsman.

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