Michael Atkinson (born 1962) is an American writer, poet and film critic. His
debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to ...
is ''Hemingway Deadlights'' (
St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books, 2009), and he has written widely on film and culture, in ''
Sight & Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'', ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...
'', ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'', ''
Film Comment
''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film Co ...
'', ''
The Believer
Believer(s) or The Believer(s) may refer to:
Religion
* Believer, a person who holds a particular belief
** Believer, a person who holds a particular religious belief
*** Believers, Christians with a religious faith in the divine Christ
*** Beli ...
'', ''
In These Times
''In These Times'' is an American politically progressive monthly magazine of news and opinion published in Chicago, Illinois.
It was established as a broadsheet-format fortnightly newspaper in 1976 by James Weinstein, a lifelong socialist.
...
'', ''
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...
'', ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'', ''
The Progressive
''The Progressive'' is a left-leaning American magazine and website covering politics and culture. Founded in 1909 by U.S. senator Robert M. La Follette Sr. and co-edited with his wife Belle Case La Follette, it was originally called ''La Follet ...
'', ''
Spin'', ''
Maxim'', ''
The Boston Phoenix
''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' a ...
'', ''Details'', ''
Moving Image Source Moving Image Source is a website of the Museum of the Moving Image (New York City) devoted to the history of film, television, and digital media. Made possible with support from the Hazen Polsky Foundation, it features original articles by leading ...
'',
IFC.com
IFC (formerly known as the Independent Film Channel) is an American basic cable television channel, channel owned by AMC Networks, originally launching in 1994 as a TV channel devoted to independent films. The Independent Film Channel originall ...
,
TCM.com, ''Movieline'', ''
The Poetry Foundation'', ''
Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by ...
'', ''
LA Weekly
''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose pare ...
'', ''The Stranger'', ''
The American Prospect
''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The American Prospect'' says it "is devoted t ...
'', ''
Baltimore City Paper
''Baltimore City Paper'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1977 by Russ Smith (publisher), Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch. The most recent owner was the Baltimore Sun Media Group, which purchased th ...
'', ''
Modern Painters
''Modern Painters'' (1843–1860) is a five-volume work by the Victorian art critic, John Ruskin, begun when he was 24 years old based on material collected in Switzerland in 1842. Ruskin argues that recent painters emerging from the tradition o ...
'', and other publications.
His volume ''Exile Cinema: Filmmakers at Work Beyond Hollywood'' (SUNY Press) featured work by
Guy Maddin
Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, author, cinematographer, and film editor of both features and short films, as well as an installation artist, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since completing his first film in ...
,
Stuart Klawans
Stuart Klawans has been the film critic for ''The Nation'' since 1988. He also writes a column on the visual arts for ''The New York Daily News''.
Education
He obtained his degree from Yale University.
Awards and honors
He won the 2007 National M ...
,
Ed Park,
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for '' The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008, when he retired. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and h ...
,
Joshua Clover,
David Thompson,
Howard Hampton, and others.
His debut book of poetry is ''One Hundred Children Waiting for a Train'' (
Word Works), and his poems have also appeared in a number of journals, including ''
The Threepenny Review
''The Threepenny Review'' is an American literary magazine founded in 1980. It is published in Berkeley, California, by founding editor Wendy Lesser. Maintaining a quarterly schedule (March, June, September, December), it offers fiction, memoirs, ...
'', ''
Ontario Review
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Cana ...
'', ''Chelsea'', ''
Michigan Quarterly Review'', ''
Prairie Schooner
''Prairie Schooner'' is a literary magazine published quarterly at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with the cooperation of UNL's English Department and the University of Nebraska Press. It is based in Lincoln, Nebraska and was first publish ...
'', ''
Epoch
In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured.
The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...
'', ''
Crazyhorse'', ''
Seneca Review
Hobart and William Smith Colleges are private liberal arts colleges in Geneva, New York. They trace their origins to Geneva Academy established in 1797. Students can choose from 45 majors and 68 minors with degrees in Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor ...
'', ''
New Letters'', ''
Cimarron Review'', and ''
The Laurel Review
Northwest Missouri State University is a public university in Maryville, Missouri. It has an enrollment of about 8,505 students. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis Wor ...
'', among others.
Since 1997, Atkinson has taught at
Long Island University
Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LI ...
. Since 2017, he has served as editorial director of the online film school Smashcut.
He has been the recipient of a
New York Foundation for the Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organization ...
fellowship, and was a featured writer in ''September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond'' (ed.
William Heyen
William Helmuth Heyen (born November 1, 1940) is an American poet, editor, and literary critic. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County. He received a BA from the State University of New York at ...
, Etruscan Press, 2002), ''The Best American Movie Writing 2001'' (
John Landis
John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as '' The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), '' National Lampoon's Animal House'' (19 ...
&
Jason Shinder, eds., Avalon/Thunder's Mouth Press, 2001), ''Celluloid Jukebox'' (Jonathan Romney &
Adrian Wooton
Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water".
The Adria was until the 8th century BC the m ...
, eds.,
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
, 1997), and ''
The Best American Poetry 1993'' (eds.
Louise Gluck &
David Lehman
David Lehman (born June 11, 1948[David Lehman]
at poets.org) is an American poet, non-fiction writer, and li ...
, Collier/
Macmillan, 1993).
Atkinson also co-authored and co-produced the pilots ''Babylon Fields'' (2007), produced by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...
for
NBC, and again in 2014 for
CBS.
Atkinson participated in the
2012 ''Sight & Sound'' critics' poll, where he listed his ten favorite films as follows: ''
Aguirre, The Wrath of God
''Aguirre, the Wrath of God'' (; german: Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes; ) is a 1972 West German epic historical drama film produced, written and directed by Werner Herzog. Klaus Kinski stars in the title role of Spanish soldier Lope de Aguirre, ...
'', ''
L'Atalante'', ''
Blue Velvet'', ''
Céline and Julie Go Boating'', ''