Anne D. Blonstein (22 April 1958 – 19 April 2011) was a British
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
and
translator
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...
, long-resident in
Basel, Switzerland
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva), with ...
, where she worked as a freelance translator and editor.
She was the author of six full-length collections, ''the blue pearl'', ''worked on screen'', ''memory's morning,'' ''the butterflies and the burnings'', ''correspondence with nobody'', and ''to be continued''. She was also known for her poetic sequences that work with
notarikon
Notarikon () is a Talmudic method of interpreting Biblical words as acronyms. The same term may also be used for a Kabbalistic method of using the acronym of a Biblical verse as a name for God. Another variation uses the first ''and'' last lette ...
– originally a rabbinic and Kabbalistic method used to interpret the Hebrew Scriptures. She redeployed and elaborated it as a contemporary poetic procedure, engaging with diverse languages and texts, both ancient and modern.
Early life
The great-granddaughter of Jewish immigrants to Britain at the turn of the 20th century, Anne Blonstein was born and raised in the Home Counties – first Harpenden, Hertfordshire, then moving with her family to Surrey when she was 11.
Before leaving Britain in 1983, she spent six years in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, where she took a degree in Natural Sciences followed by a PhD in genetics and plant breeding.
Career
Blonstein lived in Basel, Switzerland, where she earned a living as a freelance translator and editor.
" lonstein'sterse, unusual images are the outcome of an English language that, mated to the other idioms she lives with – German, French, and Hebrew – shapes the transnational world of a language nomad. … In her most recent work, Hebrew … has become the place to which she ties her English and the other languages she uses in her life through graphic/visual and semantic associations. … r Blonstein languages, with their varieties and differences, have become the endangered species of our globalized world." – Marina Camboni, ''Contemporary Women's Writing'', Oxford University Press
Blonstein also collaborated on projects with other artists, including the ceramist Pat King, and the Swiss composers Mela Meierhans and Margrit Schenker. Her works appeared in ''
Denver Quarterly
The ''Denver Quarterly'' (known as ''The University of Denver Quarterly'' until 1970) is a literary magazine based at the University of Denver. It was founded in 1966 by novelist John Edward Williams.
Publisher
The magazine is published by the ...
'', ''
Descant
A descant, discant, or is any of several different things in music, depending on the period in question; etymologically, the word means a voice (''cantus'') above or removed from others. The ''Harvard Dictionary of Music'' states:
A descant ...
'', ''
Dusie
''Dusie'' began in 2003 by curating an experimental poetics journal online. In 2006, the magazine began publishing full-length works in paperback format. Dusie's full-length collections include poetry books by Joe Ross, Anne Blonstein, Kristy Bowen ...
'', ''How2'', ''
Indiana Review
''Indiana Review'' (''IR'') is a small, student-run literary magazine at Indiana University Bloomington. Founded in 1976, it has a circulation of about 2,000.
A biannual review, ''IR'' publishes essays, fiction, graphic arts, interviews, poetr ...
'' and the ''
Notre Dame Review''.
Death
Anne Blonstein died in 2011, after a long, undisclosed illness, aged 52.
Publications
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References
External links
Poetry links
Feature of poems, reviews and essays in Word for/Word, vol. 16, 2010Poem in ''Cambridge Literary Review'' 1/3, 2010
* ttp://www.copenhagenreview.com/ Copenhagen Review – poemsbr>Anne Blonstein at Poetry Salzburg, poems from ''worked on screen''
Critiques, reviews and interviews
"Anne Blonstein’s ''memory's morning,''" online review by Kathrin Schaeppi, Jan 2009.Online Review of ''correspondence with nobody'' by Maria Damon, Late 2009.
Anne Blonstein memorial – 19 November 2011
7 Videos: http://vimeo.com/album/1784403
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blonstein, Anne
1958 births
2011 deaths
20th-century English Jews
20th-century English poets
20th-century English women writers
Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge
British expatriates in Switzerland
English women poets
Writers from Surrey