Women’s Writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present
Jeni Couzyn
Standard Name: Couzyn, Jeni
Birth Name: Jeni Couzyn
JC
, poet of the twentieth century and later, calls herself a blend of several nationalities (South African, British, and Canadian) and of many identities. She is a feminist anthologist as well as a poet, author of spare but effective literary criticism in the form of introductions and headnotes.
From early in her career FA
was an insightful critic as well as a poet, and her judgements were already informed by a matured understanding of the shaping force of gender. Dannie Abse
included her...
Anthologization
Ruth Fainlight
Most of RF
's poetry volumes list a number of journals in which her poems have originally appeared. For a few years the New Yorker regularly carried her poems (which delighted her, both for the...
Anthologization
Denise Levertov
DL
supplied a lyrical five-page essay on her childhood for Jeni Couzyn
's Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Women Poets, 1985.
Couzyn, Jeni, editor. The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Women Poets. Bloodaxe Books, 1985.
75-9
Literary responses
Patricia Beer
Responses to PB
's poetry have varied widely, even among her fellow poets. Jeni Couzyn
has charged her with the crime of not rocking the boat, of making herself a favourite . . . for...
Literary responses
Kathleen Raine
She stood as a candidate for election as Professor of Poetry at Oxford
in 1968, but was unsuccessful. (Four years later John Betjeman
told her that she would have been a better choice for Poet...
Literary responses
Stevie Smith
Her reputation has been building steadily. Jeni Couzyn
called her an original voice in poetry with no back-up tradition and no imitators, a performer of daredevil dance with poetic form.
Couzyn, Jeni, editor. The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Women Poets. Bloodaxe Books, 1985.
During this decade she developed her successful career as a public reader and performer. The younger poet Jeni Couzyn
later wrote of her unforgettable appearance, trembling like a frail bird on the stage of the...
Textual Production
Anne Stevenson
AS
feels that the label woman poet has a stereotyping effect which is not conducive to either the wr iting or the reading of poetry.
Stevenson, Anne. Between the Iceberg and the Ship. University of Michigan Press, 1998.
88
She has expressed her views about the experience of...
Couzyn, Jeni, and Claire Weissman Wilks. A Time to Be Born. Firelizard, 1999.
Couzyn, Jeni. Christmas in Africa. Heinemann, 1975.
Couzyn, Jeni. Flying. Workshop Press, 1970.
Couzyn, Jeni, and Cecil Skotnes. Homecoming. Firelizard, 1998.
Couzyn, Jeni. House of Changes. Heinemann Educational, 1978.
Couzyn, Jeni. In the Skin House. Bloodaxe Books, 1993.
Couzyn, Jeni. Life by Drowning. Bloodaxe Books, 1985.
Couzyn, Jeni. Monkey’s Wedding. Jonathan Cape, 1972.
Lampert, Arlene, Rosemary Sullivan, and Jeni Couzyn. “Preface”. The Selected Poetry of Jeni Couzyn, edited by Arlene Lampert, Rosemary Sullivan, Arlene Lampert, and Rosemary Sullivan, Exile Editions, 2000, p. xi - xiii.
Couzyn, Jeni, editor. The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Women Poets. Bloodaxe Books, 1985.
Couzyn, Jeni. The Happiness Bird. Sono Nis Press, 1978.
Couzyn, Jeni. The Selected Poetry of Jeni Couzyn. Editors Lampert, Arlene and Rosemary Sullivan, Exile Editions, 2000.
Couzyn, Jeni, editor. Twelve to Twelve. Poets Trust, 1970.