John Riley
Encyclopedia
John Riley was a poet who was associated with the British Poetry Revival
.
Riley was born and grew up in Leeds
. He served in the Royal Air Force
from 1956 to 1958 and then attended Pembroke College, Cambridge
, graduating in 1961. He then worked as a teacher in various schools around the Cambridge area. During this period, he became acquainted with many of the poets who made up the Cambridge group, one of the key elements of the Revival.
He left to take up a teaching post near Oxford
in 1966. That same year, he set up the Grosseteste Press with his friend Tim Longville. The pair started a magazine, Grosseteste Review, two years later. Riley retired from teaching in 1970 and returned to Leeds to write full time. In 1977, he was received into the Orthodox Church. He was murdered near his home on the night of October 27–28, 1978.
Riley's poetry was influenced by Charles Olson
and Osip Mandelshtam, whose poetry he translated into English. His first book, Ancient and Modern was published in 1967 and the posthumous The Collected Works in 1980. The latter includes the first full printing of his important long poem, Czargrad. A Selected Poems was published by Carcanet Press
in 1995.
British Poetry Revival
The British Poetry Revival is the general name given to a loose poetry movement in Britain that took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The revival was a modernist-inspired reaction to the Movement's more conservative approach to British poetry.-Beginnings:...
.
Riley was born and grew up in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. He served in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
from 1956 to 1958 and then attended Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
, graduating in 1961. He then worked as a teacher in various schools around the Cambridge area. During this period, he became acquainted with many of the poets who made up the Cambridge group, one of the key elements of the Revival.
He left to take up a teaching post near Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
in 1966. That same year, he set up the Grosseteste Press with his friend Tim Longville. The pair started a magazine, Grosseteste Review, two years later. Riley retired from teaching in 1970 and returned to Leeds to write full time. In 1977, he was received into the Orthodox Church. He was murdered near his home on the night of October 27–28, 1978.
Riley's poetry was influenced by Charles Olson
Charles Olson
Charles Olson , was a second generation American modernist poet who was a link between earlier figures such as Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams and the New American poets, which includes the New York School, the Black Mountain School, the Beat poets, and the San Francisco Renaissance...
and Osip Mandelshtam, whose poetry he translated into English. His first book, Ancient and Modern was published in 1967 and the posthumous The Collected Works in 1980. The latter includes the first full printing of his important long poem, Czargrad. A Selected Poems was published by Carcanet Press
Carcanet Press
Carcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt.Carcanet Press is now in its fourth decade. In 2000 it was named the Sunday Times millennium Small Publisher of the Year...
in 1995.