Fred Johnston (1951-2024) was an Irish poet, novelist, literary critic and musician. He was the founder and current director of the Western Writers' Centre in
Galway
Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
. He co-founded the Irish Writers' Co-operative in 1974, and founded Galway's annual
Cúirt International Festival of Literature
The Cúirt International Festival of Literature is an annual literary festival held since 1985 in Galway in Ireland. The Irish language word ''cúirt'' (pronounced ) means "court".
The festival consists of a variety of events taking place over t ...
in 1986.
Life
Johnson was born in
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, into a mixed, unorthodox background: his father's side were Belfast,
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
, and both
Unionist and
Trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
ist; his mother's side were
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Catholic, followers of
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to:
* Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician
* Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
and admirers of the
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
.
[
] He spent the first seven years of his life in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Canada.
He went to
St Malachy's College
St Malachy's College, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is the oldest Catholic diocesan college in Ulster. The college's alumni and students are known as Malachians.
History
The college, founded by William Crolly, Bishop William Crolly, opened on th ...
's grammar school in Belfast from 1962–68.
[
] During these years he learnt guitar and banjo and listened to and played folk music. He performed on the cabaret lounge circuit, made appearances on
Ulster TV
UTV (formerly Ulster Television, branded on air as ITV1 since 2020) is the ITV (TV network), ITV region covering Northern Ireland, ITV subsidiary and the former on-air name of the free-to-air public broadcast television channel serving the ar ...
, released some singles and, aged 16, an LP of rebel and football songs called ''The Flags Are Out for Celtic''.
[
]
After school he moved to
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
and worked in journalism, writing for the ''
Evening Press
The ''Evening Press'' was an Irish newspaper which was printed from 1954 until 1995. It was set up by Éamon de Valera's Irish Press group, and was originally edited by Douglas Gageby. Its principal competitor was the ''Evening Herald'', whic ...
'' and ''
The Belfast Telegraph
The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media, which also publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and various other newspapers and magazines in Ireland. Its ed ...
'', and in
Public Relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
.
He had several prose pieces published in the New Irish Writing section (edited by
David Marcus) of the ''Evening Press'', and won a Hennessy Literary Award (the judges being
V. S. Pritchett
Sir Victor Sawdon Pritchett (also known as VSP; 16 December 1900 – 20 March 1997) was a British writer and literary critic.
Pritchett was known particularly for his short stories, collated in a number of volumes. Among his most noteworthy w ...
and
James Plunkett
James Plunkett Kelly, or James Plunkett (21 May 1920 – 28 May 2003), was an Irish writer. He was educated at Synge Street CBS.
Kelly grew up among the Dublin working class and they, along with the petty bourgeoisie and lower intelligentsi ...
) in 1972.
In 1974 he met up with
Neil Jordan
Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish filmmaker and writer. He first achieved recognition for his short story collection, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia,'' which won the Guardian Fiction Prize in ...
and
Peter Sheridan
Peter Sheridan (born 1952) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director. He lives in Dublin. His awards include the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 1978."Judges shortlist 16 authors", ''The Irish Times'', 4 September 1999 (NB article ...
to found the Irish Writers' Co-operative, a publishing outlet for new Irish fiction. Early publications under its imprint Co-op Books were
Desmond Hogan
Desmond Hogan (born 10 December 1950) is an Irish writer. Awarded the 1977 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature and 1980 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, his oeuvre comprises novels, plays, short stories and travel writing.
The ''Cork Examiner'' said: ...
's ''The Ikon Maker'' (1976) and
Ronan Sheehan
Ronan Sheehan (born 1953) is an Irish novelist, short story writer and essayist. He was an early member of the Irish Writers' Co-operative (founded in 1974 by Fred Johnston, Neil Jordan and Peter Sheridan) and its Secretary from 1975 to 198 ...
's ''Tennis Players'' (1977).
He moved to Galway in 1978
[
] and in 1979 published his first collection of poems, ''Life and Death in the Midlands'', and a collection of short stories, ''Picture of a Girl in a Spanish Hat''.
From the early 1980s to the mid 1990s, Johnston contributed poetry and a short story to the
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
international literature, arts and affairs magazine, ''
Cencrastus
''Cencrastus'' was a magazine devoted to Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs, founded after the Referendum of 1979 by students, mainly of Scottish literature, at Edinburgh University, and with support from Cairns Craig, then a ...
''.
In 1986 he founded the poetry festival
Cúirt, which became an annual literary festival in Galway and is now one of the largest of its kind in Ireland.
[
] He ended his association with it in 1988.
In the 1990s he formed an Irish traditional folk group, Parson's Hat, which released two albums: ''Cutty Wren'' and ''The Better Match''. Tracks by the group have been included on a number of compilation albums.
In 2000 he received the Prix de l'Ambassade Translation bursary to work on translations of the French poet Michel Martin.
He has also translated the Senegalese poet Babacar Sall,
and more recently the Breton poet Colette Wittorski.
In 2004 he received
The Ireland Fund of Monaco bursary to be writer-in-residence for a month at the
Princess Grace Irish Library
The Princess Grace Irish Library is a library situated in Monaco named after Princess Grace, the wife and consort of Prince Rainier III. Among its collections of Irish literature, the library hosts the personal collection of Irish books and musi ...
in Monaco, where he continued working on his novel-in-progress ''The Neon Rose'' (published 2007), wrote some new poems, and sourced some
Monégasque poems which he later translated.
[
]
In 2005 he founded the Western Writers' Centre, or in Irish Ionad Scríbhneoiri Chaitlín Maude (the
Caitlín Maude Writers' Centre, after the
Galway Gaeltacht poet), which bills itself as "the only writers' centre West of the Shannon".
The centre holds readings, lectures, workshops and courses, and organises the
Gort
Gort ( or ) is a town of around 2,800 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 road (Ireland), R458 and R460 ...
literary festival.
He released two solo albums, ''Get You'' and ''Local Papers''.
Johnston was a regular poetry reviewer for ''
Poetry Ireland Review
''Poetry Ireland Review'' is a journal of Irish poetry published three times a year by Poetry Ireland, the national Irish poetry organisation.
''Poetry Ireland Review'' publishes the work of both emerging and established Irish and internation ...
'' and ''Books Ireland'' and on occasion for the ''
Southern Humanities Review'', ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' and ''
Harpers & Queen
''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...
'', and has contributed to the literary magazines ''
Orbis'', ''
New Letters
''New Letters'', the name it has been published under since 1970, is one of the oldest literary magazines in the United States and continues to publish award-winning poems and fiction. The magazine is based in Kansas City, Missouri.
History and ...
'', ''
The Southern Review
''The Southern Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established by Robert Penn Warren in 1935 at the behest of Charles W. Pipkin and funded by Huey Long as a part of his investment in Louisiana State University. It publishes ficti ...
'', ''
The Seneca Review'', and ''Irish Studies Review''.
Books
Poetry
* ''Life and Death in the Midlands'' (Enniskerry: Tansy Books, 1979)
OCLC
OCLC, Inc. See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was founded in 1967 as the ...
br>
22526179* ''A Scarce Light'' (Dublin: Beaver Row Press, 1985)
* ''Song at the Edge of the World'' (Galway: Salmon Poetry, 1987)
* ''Measuring Angles'' (with cassette) (Spiddal:
Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 1993)
* ''Browne'' (Belfast: Lapwing Publications, 1993)
* ''Canzoni con Accompagnamento d'Arpa'' (''Songs for Harp Accompaniment'', translated into Italian by Daniele Serafini) (Faenza: MobyDick, 1996) OCL
35075289
* ''True North'' (Cliffs of Moher: Salmon Poetry, 1998)
* ''Being Anywhere: New & Selected Poems'' (Belfast: Lagan Press, 2001)
* ''Paris Without Maps'' (Dingwall: Sandstone Press, 2003)
* ''The Oracle Room'' (Blaenau Ffestiniog: Cinnamon Press, 2007)
Novels
* ''Atalanta: A Novel'' (Cork: The Collins Press, 2000)
* ''Mapping God = Le Tracé de Dieu'' (in English and French) (Galway: Wynkin deWorde, 2003)
* ''The Neon Rose'' (Bristol: Bluechrome Publishing, 2007)
Short stories
* ''Picture of a Girl in a Spanish Hat'' (Enniskerry: Tansy Books, 1979) OCL
19678188* ''Keeping the Night Watch'' (Cork: The Collins Press, 1998)
* ''Dancing in the Asylum'' (Cardigan:
Parthian Books
Parthian Books is an independent publisher based in Cardigan, Ceredigion, Cardigan, Wales. Editorially-led, it publishes a range of contemporary fiction, poetry, drama, art books, Translation, literature in translation, and non-fiction. Since its ...
, 2011)
Plays
* ''No Earthly Pole''
Translations
* ''Northern Lights'' (poems by Colette Wittorski, from French) (Belfast: Lapwing Publications, 2007)
Notes
External links
The Western Writers' Centre – Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Fred
1951 births
Male poets from Northern Ireland
Male guitarists from Northern Ireland
Translators from Northern Ireland
French–English translators
Male novelists from Northern Ireland
20th-century guitarists from Northern Ireland
20th-century poets from Northern Ireland
21st-century poets from Northern Ireland
21st-century novelists from Northern Ireland
Male short story writers from Northern Ireland
20th-century short story writers from Northern Ireland
21st-century short story writers from Northern Ireland