John Anthony Connor (born 1930) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

poet and playwright.

Biography

Tony Connor was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England. After leaving school at 14, he served in the British Army as a tank gunner, and worked as a textile designer between 1944 and 1960, and in radio and television in Manchester in the 1960s. He was a founder member of The Peterloo Group. He earned an MA at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

"Tony Connor"
Poetry Foundation. in 1967 and in 1968 visiting writer at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

."Tony Connor"
Academy of American Poets. In 1961, he married the speech therapist, Frances Foad. They had three children: two sons, Samuel and Simon, and a daughter Rebecca. They divorced in 1979. From 1971 until he retired in 1999 Connor was professor of

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...

. He lives in Middletown and London. He was a close friend of the English writer

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist and short-story writer, satirist and essayist known for psychologically provocative works of fiction that explore the relations between human psychology, technology, s ...

and remains close friends with

Michael de Larrabeiti Michael de Larrabeiti (18 August 1934 – 18 April 2008) was an English novelist and travel writer. He is best known for writing ''The Borrible Trilogy'', which has been cited as an influence by writers in the new weird movement. Early life ...

. One section of Connor's 2006 anthology '' Things Unsaid'' is dedicated to de Larrabeiti; de Larrabeiti's 1992 book Journal of a Sad Hermaphrodite is dedicated to Connor, and includes one of his poems. Connor has published nine volumes of poetry. His work is anthologized in '' British Poetry since 1945''. He has been a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

since 1974.

Bibliography

*''

With Love Somehow With or WITH may refer to: * With, a preposition in English * Carl Johannes With (1877–1923), Danish doctor and arachnologist * With (character), a character in ''D. N. Angel'' * ''With'' (novel), a novel by Donald Harrington * ''With'' (album ...

'' (1962) *'' Lodgers'' (1965) *'' Kon in Springtime'' (1968) *'' In the Happy Valley'' (1971) *''

The Memoirs of Uncle Harry ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

'' (1974) *''

New and Selected Poems (Connor) {{disambig ''New and Selected Poems'' can refer to: * '' New and Selected Poems'', a 1992 collection of poems by Mary Oliver (volume two with the same title was released in 2005) * '' New and Selected Poems'', a 2004 collection of poems by Czesław ...

'' (1982) *''

Spirits of the Place Spirit(s) commonly refers to: * Liquor, a distilled alcoholic drink * Spirit (animating force), the non-corporeal essence of living things * Spirit (supernatural entity), an incorporeal or immaterial being Spirit(s) may also refer to: Liquids ...

'' (1986) *''

Metamorphic Adventures Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...

'' (1996) *'' Things Unsaid: Selected Poems 1960-2005'' (Anvil Press Poetry, 2006) *''

The Empty Air ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

'' (Anvil Press Poetry, 2013) *''

A Century of Childhoods A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient G ...

'' (Kin Press, 2022)

References

External links

John Anthony (Tony) Connor fonds
at University of Victoria, Special Collections
Tony Connor
at Academy of American Poets. 1930 births Living people Wesleyan University faculty Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature English male poets {{UK-poet-stub