James Fenton
James Fenton ( born April 25, 1949 in Lincoln) is an English poet, literary critic and journalist. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 2007.
Life and work
Fenton, whose father was an Anglican priest, grew up in Lincolnshire and Staffordshire and went to Durham and Repton school. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, gaining the Newdigate Prize for study periods.
In 1972 he received for his first collection of poems, the Eric Gregory Award and used the prize money for a trip to Southeast Asia, which was to influence his work. On his return to London in 1976 he became a correspondent for the New Statesman and worked for many years as a critic for various newspapers, including for The Sunday Times, The Times and The Independent. In addition, he transferred in the 1980s, the libretti of Rigoletto and Simon Boccanegra for productions at the English National Opera into English. He dedicated the beginning of the 21st century increasingly to work for theater and opera. From 1994 to 1999 he was Oxford Professor of Poetry.
Fenton has often been compared at a young age with WH Auden and gained early reputation as an influential poet. He is regarded as stylistically and technically versed, covers wide-ranging topics, but shows a special interest in violent conflicts and foreign cultures. He often uses traditional forms to current events - relentlessly, sad or portray a satirical undertone - especially wars. One of his most important poems, A German Requiem, examines the traces of the Nazi period in Germany's collective memory. Among his works, however, are also more personal and love poems.
Fenton lives with the U.S. writer Darryl Pinckney in Oxfordshire.