Jeni Couzyn (born 1942) is a feminist poet and

anthologist In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...

of South African extraction who lives and works in Canada and the United Kingdom. Her best known collection is titled '' Life by Drowning: Selected Poems'' (1985), which includes an earlier sequence ''A Time to Be Born'' (1981) that chronicles her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter.

Biography

Couzyn was born in South Africa and educated at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

. She emigrated to Britain in 1966 and established herself as a freelance writer. She became a Canadian citizen in 1975 and the following year was appointed writer-in-residence at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

, British Columbia. Since then she has divided her time between England, Canada, and South Africa.

Work

Poetry

Couzyn's first collection was titled ''Flying'' (1970). Later collections include ''Christmas in Africa'' (1975), ''A Time to be Born'' (1981), ''Life by Drowning: Selected poems'' (1985), and ''That's It'' (1993).Stringer p. 145 ''A Time to be Born'' deals with childbirth from "conception to birth and early infancy". ''The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English'' remarks that Couzyn's poetry repeatedly engages the social, political and imaginative implications of womanhood. Her poetry has been described as minimalist. The ''Oxford Companion'' observes that her conception of poetry as pre-eminently oral gives much of her work clarity and immediacy.Papke p. 183

Anthologies

Couzyn edited the influential '' The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Women Poets'' (1985), set as an

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

text in British schools at the time. A later anthology, ''Singing Down the Bones'' (1989), was aimed at a teenage audience.

Other

Couzyn has authored two books for children. With Julie Malgas, she produced a study of Koos Malgas, the sculptor who helped create ''

The Owl House ''The Owl House'' is an American animated fantasy television series created by Dana Terrace that aired on Disney Channel from January 10, 2020, to April 8, 2023. The series features the voices of Sarah-Nicole Robles, Wendie Malick, Alex Hi ...

'', a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

Nieu-Bethesda Nieu-Bethesda (Afrikaans for ''New Bethesda'') is a village in the Eastern Cape at the foot of the Sneeuberge, approximately north of Graaff Reinet. It was founded in 1875 as a church town, like many other Karoo villages, and attained municipal ...

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, noted for its visionary conception.

References

External links

Finding aid to Jeni Couzyn papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Couzyn, Jeni 1942 births Living people 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian women poets Canadian feminist writers Women anthologists 20th-century Canadian women writers South African women poets South African feminists