Jan Kemp (writer)

Janet Mary Riemenschneider-Kemp MNZM (born 12 March 1949) is a New Zealand poet, short story writer and public performer of her work. She lives in Kronberg im Taunus, Germany.

Early life

Kemp was born in Hamilton in 1949.

Education

Kemp graduated from the University of Auckland with an MA in English in 1974. She gained a Diploma in Teaching from Auckland Teachers' College in 1972, and RSA Certificate, British Council, Hong Kong (Teacher of English as a Foreign Language) in 1984.[1][2]

Career

Kemp began working with the poetry magazine The Word is Freed (usually abbreviated to Freed) in the late 1960s.[3] Freed ran from 1968 to 1973, and emerged from the University of Auckland.[4]

In winter 1979, Kemp toured New Zealand as the only woman in the 'Gang of Four', with Sam Hunt, Alistair Campbell and Hone Tuwhare.[5][6] Kemp was described at the time as "Jan Kemp, the youngest - and prettiest? - of the four poets on tour."[7]

Kemp worked as a teacher of English as a foreign language at the University of Papua, Papua New Guinea (1980–1982), the University of Hong Kong (1982–1985), and the National University of Singapore (1985).[2] In 1980, Kemp was the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Poetry Representative at the South Pacific Festival of Arts in Papua, Papua New Guinea.[2]

Kemp was the chief instigator of the Aotearoa New Zealand Poetry Sound Archive, launched in 2004.[8] The archive is housed in the Special Collections at the University of Auckland Library and in the Alexander Turnbull Library, and features recordings of 171 New Zealand poets reading their work, and is accompanied by text files, photographs and bibliographical notes about the poets.[9]

In 2007, Kemp moved to Germany with her husband, Dieter Riemenschneider.[10]

In Poetry New Zealand issue 48, Kemp discusses her poetic practice:

My view of how I write hasn’t really changed since I first wrote of this in the anthology The Young New Zealand Poets (1973) [...] I still hear a line or lines or just a phrase in my head and have taught myself to listen, to let the words keep on coming; I chant them aloud, to remember them, say if out walking; when I can get to paper and pencil, I write them down. Later, I type them up into a text and spend time finessing them. I do the thinking work then, once I’ve seen what I’ve said or am trying to say. A poem can take years or a moment to write itself. The music or cadence of the line and its rhythm are of utter importance to me— the speaking voice of the poet in me who, if I’m lucky, sometimes speaks up.[11]

Publications

Publications as author

The Young New Zealand Poets (1973), published by Arthur Baysting - Kemp was the only woman among nineteen poets from the Freed group.[12]

Against the Softness of Woman (1976) published by Caveman Press.[13]

Diamonds and Gravel (1979) published by Hampson Hunt.[14]

The Other Hemisphere: Poems (1992) published by Three Continents Press, Washington, DC.[15]

Ice-breaker Poems (1980) (pamphlet) published by Coal Black Press.[16]

Five Poems (1988) published by National Museum Art Gallery Singapore.[17]

Only One Angel: Poems (2001) published by University of Otago Press.[18]

The Sky's Enormous Jug - Love Poems Old & New (2002) published by Puriri Press.[19]

Dante's Heaven (2003), published by Puriri Press. Translated into German by Dieter Riemenschneider and published as Dantes Himmel in 2012.[20] Translated into Italian by Aldo Magnanino and published as Il Cielo di Dante in 2016.[21]

Nine Poems from Le Château de Lavigny (2010) published by Puriri Press.[22]

Voicetracks (2012) published by Puriri Press and Tranzlit.[23]

Jennet's Poem: Wild Love (2012) published by Puriri Press.[24]

Publications as editor

New Zealand Poets Read Their Work (1974) published by Waiata Recordings.[25]

Classic New Zealand Poets in Performance (Auckland University Press, 2006).[26]

Contemporary NZ Poets in Performance (Auckland University Press, 2007).[27]

New New Zealand Poets in Performance (Auckland University Press, 2008).[28]

Honours and awards

In 1991, Kemp was awarded a PEN-Stout Fellowship at Victoria University of Wellington.[2]

In the 2005 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Kemp was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to literature.[29]

In 2008, Kemp was a Writer in Residence at the Chateau de Lavigny, Switzerland.[30]

Further reading

Listen to Kemp's poetry recordings on The Poetry Archive.

References
  1. "Poet's Homecoming Marked By New Book | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  2. International who's who in poetry 2005 (13th ed.). London: Europa. 2004. p. 839. ISBN 185743269X. OCLC 264476170.
  3. "Jan Kemp - The University of Auckland". www.press.auckland.ac.nz. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  4. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "6. – Poetry – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  5. "Kemp, Jan | New Zealand Book Council". www.bookcouncil.org.nz. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  6. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Fellow artists: Jan Kemp, Alistair Campbell and Sam Hunt". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  7. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Poster for Four New Zealand Poets tour, 1979". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  8. "Aotearoa New Zealand Poetry Sound Archive". aonzpsa.blogspot.com. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  9. Kemp, Jan; King, Edmund; Ross, Jack (2002–2004). "Aotearoa New Zealand Poetry Sound Archive records". Aotearoa New Zealand Poetry Sound Archive.
  10. "Jan Kemp | poetryarchive.org". www.poetryarchive.org. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  11. Reid, Nicholas (March 2014). "Jan Kemp: Background" (PDF). Poetry NZ. Puriri Press & Brick Row. 48: 8.
  12. Baysting, Arthur (1973). The young New Zealand poets. (Auckland, tr. Hong Kong): Heinemann Educational Books. OCLC 488437109.
  13. Kemp, Jan (1976). Against the softness of woman. Dunedin, N.Z.: Caveman Press. ISBN 090856225X. OCLC 2615756.
  14. Kemp, Jan (1979). Diamonds and gravel. Wellington [N.Z.: Hampson Hunt. OCLC 11119728.
  15. Kemp, Jan (1992). The other hemisphere: poems. Washington, DC: Three Continents Press. ISBN 089410716X. OCLC 813598181.
  16. Kemp, Jan (1980). Ice-breaker poems. Auckland: Coal Black Press. OCLC 973579118.
  17. Kemp, Jan; National Museum Art Gallery (Singapore) (1988). Five poems. Singapore: National Museum lArt Gallery. OCLC 153298680.
  18. Kemp, Jan (2001). Only one angel: poems. Dunedin, N.Z.: University of Otago Press. ISBN 1877276170. OCLC 49199896.
  19. Kemp, Jan; Denny, John; Eyley, Claudia Pond; Puriri Press (2002). The sky's enormous jug: love poems old & new. Auckland [N.Z.: Puriri Press. ISBN 0908943229. OCLC 50862009.
  20. Kemp, Jan; Riemenschneider, Dieter (2012). Dantes Himmel. Mainz am Rhein: Verlag André Thiele. ISBN 9783940884909. OCLC 812608145.
  21. Kemp, Jan; Magagnino, Aldo (2016). Dante's heaven = Il cielo di Dante. OCLC 1032591785. Missing |author2= (help)
  22. Kemp, Jan; Riemenschneider, Dieter; Puriri Press (2010). Nine poems from Le Château de Lavigny. Auckland, N.Z.: Puriri Press. OCLC 1029662330.
  23. Kemp, Jan; Tranzlit (Firm) (2012). Voicetracks: poems 2002-2012. Auckland [N.Z.]; Kronberg im Taunus [Germany: Puriri Press ; Tranzlit. ISBN 9780908943388. OCLC 796786926.
  24. Kemp, Jan; Puriri Press (2012). Jennet's poem: wild love. Auckland, N.Z.: Puriri Press. OCLC 796466167.
  25. New Zealand poets read their work., Waiata Recordings, 1974, OCLC 946802545
  26. Ross, Jack; Kemp, Jan (2006). Classic New Zealand poets in performance. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland University Press.
  27. Ross, Jack; Kemp, Jan (2007). Contemporary New Zealand poets in performance. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland University Press. ISBN 9781869403959.
  28. Ross, Jack; Kemp, Jan (2008). New New Zealand poets in performance. ISBN 978-1869404093.
  29. "Queen's Birthday honours list 2005". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 6 June 2005. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  30. "Residence". Château de Lavigny. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
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