Devin Johnston

Devin Johnston
Born	(1970-03-14) March 14, 1970 (age 55) Canton, New York, US
Education	University of Chicago (PhD) Oberlin College (BA)
Genres	Poetry, book review
Subject	Modernism, pastoral traditions, ecology, contemporary American and British poetry, prosody
Literatureportal

Devin Johnston (born 14 March 1970) is an American poet. He has written several books of poetry including Sources (2008), which was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. ^[1] His literary criticism includes Precipitations: Contemporary American Poetry as Occult Practice (2002) and Creaturely and Other Essays (2009).

Johnston was born in Canton, New York, and he grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. ^[2] He worked as the poetry editor for Chicago Review (1995–2000), and as an editor of "Flood Editions", a non-profit publishing house. As a lecturer, he teaches in Saint Louis University, Missouri.

Styles

Most of Johnston's works are poetry and literary criticism. He was considered a lyrical poet having stated being influenced by W. B. Yeats. According to the Poetry Foundation, "Johnston whittles the lines of his poems, compressing imagery that is at once allusive and immediate." He has also observed poet Forrest Gander in one of his poems, Telepathy.

Influence and legacy

Awards

Johnston was awarded the Friends of Literature prize by the Poetry Foundation for his poems New Song and A Close Shave. ^[3]

Works

Poetry ^[4]

• ——— (2001). Telepathy (poetry). London: Paper Bark Press. ISBN   978-1-877004-86-5.
• ——— (2004). Aversions (poetry). Richmond, California: Omnidawn Press. ISBN   9781890650162.
• ——— (2008). Sources (poetry). New York City: Turtle Point Press. ISBN   9781933527161.
• ——— (2011). Traveler: Poems (poetry). New York City: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN   9780374279332.
• ——— (2015). Far-Fetched: Poems (poetry). New York City: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN   9780374714086
• ——— (2019). Mosses and Lichens: Poems (poetry). New York City: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN   9780374719883.
• ——— (2023). Dragons: Poems (poetry). New York City: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN   9780374607302.

Literary Criticism ^{[4] [5]}

• ——— (2002). Precipitations: Contemporary American Poetry as Occult Practice (literary criticism). Middletown: Wesleyan University Press. ISBN   9780819565624.
• ——— (2009). Creaturely and Other Essays (literary criticism). New York City: Turtle Point Press. ISBN   9781933527222.

References

1. "Sources – Turtle Point Press" . Retrieved 2026-01-04.
2. Poets, Academy of American. "Devin Johnston". poets.org. Retrieved 2026-01-04.
3. "2012 Prizes for Contributors to Poetry Announced". Poetry Foundation . Retrieved 30 March 2024.
4. "Devin Johnston, Ph.D." www.slu.edu. Retrieved 2026-01-04.
5. "Devin Johnston – Turtle Point Press" . Retrieved 2026-01-04.