Ken Bolton (born 1949) is an Australian poet. He was born in Sydney and studied fine arts at the University of Sydney, where he also tutored.[1] In the late 70s he edited the poetry magazine Magic Sam and began the small press Sea Cruise Books with Anna Couani.[2] His first book of poems, Four Poems, was published in 1977. In 1982 he moved to Adelaide to work at the Experimental Art Foundation.[1]

He has since edited the literary magazine Otis Rush and collaborated with poet John Jenkins on a number of books of poetry. His Selected Poems was published by Penguin in 1992 and in 2005 Wakefield Press published his monograph on the contemporary sculptor Michelle Nikou. [citation needed]

His collection (At The Flash & At The Baci, 2006) has been described as "prov[ing] to us that Ken Bolton is a prime example of a poet breaking new ground in Australian poetry."[3]

His 2019 book, Salute, was shortlisted for the 2022 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature John Bray Poetry Award.[4]

Bibliography edit

Poetry edit

Collections and chapbooks
  • Four Poems. Sydney: Sea Cruise Books. 1977.[a]
  • Blonde & French. (Island, 1978) ISBN 0-909771-18-9
  • Talking to You: Poems 1978-1981. (Rigmarole, 1983) ISBN 0-909229-25-2
  • Blazing Shoes. (Open Dammit, 1984) ISBN 0-9591159-0-0
  • Airborne dogs, With John Jenkins. (Brunswick Hills, 1988) ISBN 0-9590929-3-5
  • The Ferrara Poems, With John Jenkins. (Experimental Art Foundation, 1989) ISBN 0-949836-21-4
  • Two poems. (Experimental Art Foundation, 1990) ISBN 0-949836-26-5
  • Selected Poems. (Penguin, 1992) ISBN 0-14-058688-1
  • Untimely Meditations & Other Poems. (Wakefield Press, Adelaide, 1997) ISBN 1-86254-432-8
  • At The Flash & At The Baci. (Wakefield Press, Adelaide, 2006) ISBN 1-86254-692-4
  • The Circus. (Wakefield Press, Adelaide, 2006)
  • A Whistled Bit of Bop. (Vagabond Press, Sydney, 2010) ISBN 978-0-98051-135-2
  • Sly Mongoose. (Puncher & Wattmann, Sydney, 2011) ISBN 978-1-921450-30-3
  • Selected Poems, 1975—2010. (Shearsman Press, Bristol, UK, 2012) ISBN 978-1-84861-209-9
  • Threefer. (Puncher & Wattmann, Sydney, 2013) ISBN 978-1-9221-8646-1
  • London journal London poem or "Pendant"(Vagabond Press, Sydney, 2015) ISBN 978-1-92218-161-9
  • Lonnie's Lament. (Wakefield Press, Adelaide, 2017) ISBN 978-1-74305-472-7
  • Species of Spaces. (Shearsman Press, Bristol, UK, 2017) ISBN 978-1-84861-576-2
  • Starting at Basheer's. (Vagabond Press, Sydney, 2018) ISBN 978-1-92218-188-6
  • Salute. (Puncher & Wattmann, Sydney, 2019) ISBN 978-1-92578-040-6

Non fiction edit

Critical studies and reviews of Bolton's work edit

Salute
  • Beesley, Luke (January–February 2021). "It Must Have Been Moonglow". Australian Book Review. 428: 53–54.

Notes edit

  1. ^ Limited edition of 300 copies.

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Ken Bolton Contents Page". Australian Literature Resources. Archived from the original on 7 February 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
  2. ^ Minter, Peter; Ken Bolton (29 April 2005). "Ken Bolton in conversation with Peter Minter". Jacket Magazine. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
  3. ^ Johnson, Heather Taylor (14 January 2007). "Heather Taylor Johnson reviews Ken Bolton". Cordite Poetry Review. Retrieved 13 July 2008.
  4. ^ "2022 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.

External links edit