Kate Jennings
Encyclopedia
Kate Jennings is an Australia
n poet
, essayist, memoirist, and novel
ist.
. She attended the University of Sydney
in the late 1960s, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours. She was active in feminist and left wing-movements, in particular gaining notoriety for an incendiary speech given before a Vietnam Moratorium march in 1970 — a speech that is credited as signaling the beginning of the second wave of feminism in Australia.
She also edited Mother I'm Rooted, a pioneer anthology of women poets which was the object of much controversy.
She moved to New York City
in 1979, where she wrote for numerous magazines and newspapers, as well as doing a stint on Wall Street as a speechwriter. In 1983, she met Bob Cato
, a ground-breaking graphic designer, photographer, and collagist who helped turn the record album into an important form of contemporary art. They were married in 1987; he died in March, 1999.
Her brother, Dare, was the creative force behind the Mambo
clothing empire. His latest venture is Deus Ex Machina, a motorcycle and clothing business.
), "a narrative of pure anguish" (Times Literary Supplement), and "possessing a holographic shimmer" (New York Times Book Review). It was reported to have just missed the Booker Prize shortlist. Moral Hazard has been called "humane and unsparing; witty, unsettling, and wildly intelligent" by Shirley Hazzard
, author of The Transit of Venus.
Jennings was awarded the Christina Stead Prize
for fiction for Moral Hazard, which was also shortlisted for the 2003 Miles Franklin Award
, the Los Angeles Times Fiction Prize, and the Tasmania Pacific Region Prize. Snake was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, as was Moral Hazard.
Both books contain strong autobiographical elements, Snake being about a girl growing up on a Riverina
farm in the 1950s, and Moral Hazard about a couple facing Alzheimer's in the husband while the wife works as a speechwriter on Wall Street.
In 2008, she published Stanley and Sophie, a memoir ostensibly about her dogs but also about life in New York City after 9/11, politics in the U.S. and her encounters with two macaques in Bali at the time of the 2005 bombing there.
In March 2010, she published "Trouble", an autobiographical collection of her best work from the last four decades, covering topics from politics, morality, finance, feminism and the writing life.
Jennings is also known for writing outspoken essays and op-eds on the state of fiction, the direction of feminism, malfeasance in the financial industry, and the abuse of language in the business world. Andrew Field, a prominent Nabokov scholar, describes Jennings as a "ferocious truth-teller, He also cites her "humor, her obdurate individuality, and her willingness to say what other people won't."
Reviews of Snake
Reviews of Moral Hazard
Review of Stanley and Sophie
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n poet
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, essayist, memoirist, and novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist.
Life
Jennings grew up on a farm near Griffith, New South WalesGriffith, New South Wales
Griffith is a city in south-western New South Wales, Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith local government area. Like the Australian capital, Canberra and the nearby town of Leeton, Griffith was designed by Walter Burley Griffin. Griffith was named after Sir Arthur Griffith the...
. She attended the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
in the late 1960s, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours. She was active in feminist and left wing-movements, in particular gaining notoriety for an incendiary speech given before a Vietnam Moratorium march in 1970 — a speech that is credited as signaling the beginning of the second wave of feminism in Australia.
She also edited Mother I'm Rooted, a pioneer anthology of women poets which was the object of much controversy.
She moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1979, where she wrote for numerous magazines and newspapers, as well as doing a stint on Wall Street as a speechwriter. In 1983, she met Bob Cato
Bob Cato
Bob Cato was a graphic designer whose work in record album cover design contributed to the development of music and popular culture for five decades. He was vice president of creative services at Columbia Records, and later at United Artists.-Biography:Bob Cato was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana...
, a ground-breaking graphic designer, photographer, and collagist who helped turn the record album into an important form of contemporary art. They were married in 1987; he died in March, 1999.
Her brother, Dare, was the creative force behind the Mambo
Mambo Graphics
Mambo is an Australian surf and street clothing brand. It was launched in 1984, by and business partner, Andrew Rich in the Sydney suburb of Alexandria.- Early Days :...
clothing empire. His latest venture is Deus Ex Machina, a motorcycle and clothing business.
Works
Her poetry and short stories were well received, but she came into her own with her novels. Her first, Snake was described variously as "lethal and fast-moving" (Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
), "a narrative of pure anguish" (Times Literary Supplement), and "possessing a holographic shimmer" (New York Times Book Review). It was reported to have just missed the Booker Prize shortlist. Moral Hazard has been called "humane and unsparing; witty, unsettling, and wildly intelligent" by Shirley Hazzard
Shirley Hazzard
Shirley Hazzard is an Australian author of fiction and nonfiction. She was born in Australia, but holds citizenship in Great Britain and the United States...
, author of The Transit of Venus.
Jennings was awarded the Christina Stead Prize
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards were established in 1979 by the New South Wales Premier Neville Wran. Commenting on its purpose, Wran said: "We want the arts to take, and be seen to take, their proper place in our social priorities...
for fiction for Moral Hazard, which was also shortlisted for the 2003 Miles Franklin Award
Miles Franklin Award
The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ...
, the Los Angeles Times Fiction Prize, and the Tasmania Pacific Region Prize. Snake was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, as was Moral Hazard.
Both books contain strong autobiographical elements, Snake being about a girl growing up on a Riverina
Riverina
The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...
farm in the 1950s, and Moral Hazard about a couple facing Alzheimer's in the husband while the wife works as a speechwriter on Wall Street.
In 2008, she published Stanley and Sophie, a memoir ostensibly about her dogs but also about life in New York City after 9/11, politics in the U.S. and her encounters with two macaques in Bali at the time of the 2005 bombing there.
In March 2010, she published "Trouble", an autobiographical collection of her best work from the last four decades, covering topics from politics, morality, finance, feminism and the writing life.
Jennings is also known for writing outspoken essays and op-eds on the state of fiction, the direction of feminism, malfeasance in the financial industry, and the abuse of language in the business world. Andrew Field, a prominent Nabokov scholar, describes Jennings as a "ferocious truth-teller, He also cites her "humor, her obdurate individuality, and her willingness to say what other people won't."
Awards
| 1991 winner | Arts Queensland Steele Rudd Australian Short Story Award | for Women Falling Down in the Street |
| 1993 winner | NBC Banjo Awards, NBC Turnbull Fox Phillips Poetry Prize | for Cats, Dogs and Pitchforks |
| 1998 winner | Mildura Writer's Festival, Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal Philip Hodgins Philip Ian Hodgins was a prize-winning Australian poet whose work appeared in such major publications as The New Yorker. Peter Rose called him 'probably the most loved [Australian] poet of his generation', noting that 'his admirers ranged from... Alan Hollinghurst to Ron Barassi and Peter Porter... |
|
| 2003 shortlisted | The Miles Franklin Award Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ... |
for Moral Hazard |
| 2003 winner | Australian Literature Society Gold Medal | for Moral Hazard |
| 2003 winner | NSW Premier's Award, Christina Stead Prize for Fiction | for Moral Hazard |
| 2003 winner | Adelaide Festival Fiction Prize | for Moral Hazard |
External links
- Kate Jennings portrait
- Kate Jennings at Random House Australia
- Mildura Writer's Festival
- Kate Jennings. Interview with Julie McCrossin. Radio National, Life Matters, 23 May 2002.
- Interview with Elliot Perlman , May, 2008
Reviews of Snake
- "Scenes from a Mismarriage" Carol Shields, New York Times Book Review, 11 May 1997
- Snake Review by Michelle Huneven, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 1997
- "Snake Classic" Review by Evelyn JuersEvelyn JuersEvelyn Juers is an Australian writer and publisher.Juers was born in Neritz, Germany, moved to Australia in 1960, and has lived in Hamburg, Sydney, London and Geneva. She has a PhD from University of Essex, on the Brontës and the practice of biography...
Australian Book Review, August 1996
Reviews of Moral Hazard
- Moral Hazard Amanda Craig, New Statesman, 15 April 2002
- American Life and Casualty Review by Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post, 13 June 2002
- Moral Hazard, Review by Charles Taylor, Salon, 20 June 2002
- Moral Hazard, Review by Amanda Lohrey, The Age, 18 May 2002
Review of Stanley and Sophie
- "Dog Days and New York Nights" by Michelle de Kretser, The Age 5 March 2008