This week in our poetry news round up we look at the death of the poet JH Prynne and this year’s winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize.
Poet JH Prynne Passes Away Aged 89
Jeremy Halvard Prynne, the scholar and writer, knowing as a bit of a maverick, has died at the age of 89. Prynne, who was a well-known figure in British poetry and somewhat of a pioneer in 1960s’ avant garde circles, quickly became something of a cult figure with an aversion to being in the spotlight.
Born in Bromley in 1939, Prynne spent two years in the British army before going on to study at Cambridge. He graduated with a degree in English in 1960 and went on to attend Harvard where he pursued a fellowship. He returned to Cambridge where he became a fellow at Gonville and Caius college. He worked as the director of studies in English and was also the college librarian for 37 years.
His first collection was published in 1962 with a second following it in 1968. His work drew many comparisons to the poets Phillip Larkin and Ezra Pound, and he was influenced by the likes of Charles Olson. He was a prolific writer and over the decades published dozens of poetry collections. These were almost exclusively done through small presses,and he eventually emerged as something of a cult figure with a distinct aversion to any form of publicity.
His work has also been collected into two volumes under the title Poems, the second volume was only published in 2024. When it was reviewed the reviewer wrote that
Both critics and fans observed that Pryne’s poetry was difficult to parse, they are all admirers of it but whether they understood it entirely was a completely different matter. This level of obscurity was what for many was part of its appeal.
In addition to teaching at Cambridge, Prynne was also involved in lecturing at Sussex, Surrey and Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou China. He was particularly fond of Chinese poetry and wrote poems in classical Chinese using the pen name Pu Ling-en.
He also published criticisms and lectures on a range of subjects from Shakespeare to Willem de Kooning. His final book, a two-volume Collected prose, which contains essays and criticisms is currently in the production stage.
Prynne is survived by his wife of 57 years and two daughters.
2026 Dylan Thomas Prize Winner Announced
Sasha Debevec-McKenney, an American poet, has been named as the winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize – the largest and most prestigious young writers prize. Her winning work is Joy Is My Middle Name, her debut collection.
She was chosen as the winner by unanimous panel decision. The collection is a documentation of the journey of crawling through your twenties to emerge in your thirties whilst navigating race, sex, womanhood, sobriety, addiction, pop culture and consumerism along the way.
Debevec-McKenney was awarded the £20,000 prize, which is a celebration of exceptional literary talent from poets aged 39 or under, at a ceremony which was held in Swansea University’s Great Hall and marked International Dylan Thomas Day.
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