Johnson, Bryan Stanley William

(1933-1973)

   B.S. Johnson was born in London and graduated B.A. (with honors in English) from King's College, London, in 1959. His obituary from The Times, London, 15 November 1973 says Johnson, "who was found dead at his home in Islington on November 13, 1973, was one of the most naturally gifted writers of his generation. He was also one of the very small number to commit himself whole-heartedly to the experimental presentation of fiction." He won the Gregory award for Traveling People and Poems (1963) and several other awards for his novels. In his short life he wrote 8 novels, 7 plays, 5 screenplays and several collections of short stories as well as being a writer and director for television. Some of his poetry publications: Poems, 1964. Poems Two, 1972. Hafod a Hendref, 1972 (poem sequence). A Dublin Unicorn, 1973. Penguin Modern Poets 25, 1975. Some of his poems: "All This Sunday Long," "Great Man," "The Poet Holds His Future in His Hand," "Why Do We Lie," "Blaney's Last Directions," "Evening: Barents Sea," "Nine Stages Towards Knowing," "Porth Ceiriad Bay."

   Sources: Biography of BS Johnson (http://www.bsjohnson.info). Eight Lines and Under: An Anthology of Short, Short Poems. William Cole, ed. Macmillan, 1967. Poemhunter (www.poemhunter.com). The Faber Book of Blue Verse. John Whitworth, ed. Faber and Faber, 1990. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.