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Neil Aitken

Member profile details

Membership level

Full

First name

Neil

Last name

Aitken

ABOUT

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Biography

Neil Aitken is the author of two books of poetry, Babbage’s Dream (Sundress 2017) and The Lost Country of Sight (Anhinga 2008), which won the Philip Levine Prize. His poetry chapbook, Leviathan, (Hyacinth Girl Press 2016) was an Elgin Prize winner. Individual poems have appeared in The Adroit Journal, American Literary Review, Crab Orchard Review, Ninth Letter, Radar Poetry, Southern Poetry Review, and many other literary journals. He is the founding editor of Boxcar Poetry Review, curator of Have Book Will Travel, podcast host of The Lit Fantastic, and co-director of De-Canon: A Visibility Project, He also hosts Fantastic Descriptions, a YouTube channel that explores narrative storytelling and description in roleplaying games. He currently pursuing an MLIS at UBC in Vancouver, BC with a special focus on Digital Humanities work. (www.neil-aitken.com)

Self-identification: equity-deserving groups

Racialized

PUBLICATIONS AND RECOGNITION

Books and other publications

BOOKS (POETRY)

* Babbage's Dream (Sundress Publications, 2017).
* The Lost Country of Sight (Anhinga Press, 2008). Winner of 2007 Philip Levine Prize.

BOOKS (POETRY TRANSLATION)

* The Book of Cranes, Selected Poems of Zang Di, 1984-2015. (Vagabond Books AU, 2015). Co-translated from Chinese with Ming Di.

CHAPBOOKS (POETRY)

* Leviathan (Hyacinth Girl Press, 2016).

SELECTED ANTHOLOGY APPEARANCES (POETRY)

* The World I Leave You: Asian American Poets on Faith and Spirituality (Orison Books, 2020).
* The Poet’s Quest for God: 21st Century Poems of Faith, Doubt, and Wonder (Eyewear Press, 2016).
* Completely Mixed Up: Mixed Heritage Asian North American Writing & Art. (Rabbit Fool Press, 2015).
* Free Monster Poems (Hyacinth Girl Press, 2015).
* Don't Blame the Ugly Mug: Ten Years of Two Idiots Peddling Poetry (Tebot Bach Press, 2011).
* Aspects of Robinson: Homage to Weldon Kees (The Backwaters Press, 2011).
* The Loudest Voice: Volume 1 (Figueroa Press, 2010).
* Blue Arc West: An Anthology of California Poets (Tebot Bach Press, 2006).
* Homage to Vallejo (Greenhouse Review Press, 2006).

SELECTED ANTHOLOGY APPEARANCES (TRANSLATION)

* Republic of Apples, Democracy of Oranges: New Eco-Poetry from China and the United States (Manoa, 2019).
* New Cathay: Contemporary Chinese Poetry, 1990-2012 (Tupelo Press, 2013).

LITERARY JOURNALS WHERE INDIVIDUAL POEMS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED:

The Adroit Journal, American Literary Review, American Poetry Review, Anti-, Avatar Review, Barn Owl Review, The Collagist, College Mathematics Journal, The Cossack Review, Crab Orchard Review, The Dialogist, diode, DMQ Review, The Drunken Boat, Eleven Eleven, Exit 7, Hyphen Magazine, Iron Horse Literary Review, Kartika Review, Lantern Review, MiPOesias, Moria, Ninth Letter, The Normal School, Ostrich Review, Pebble Lake Review, Poetry Southwest, Portland Review, Radar Poetry, Redactions, RHINO, Rock & Sling, Silk Road, Sou’wester, Southern Poetry Review, Spillway, Stirring, Tayo Literary Journal, Thrush Poetry Journal, Washington Square, Weave Magazine

Awards and other achievements

Writer-in-Residence, Regina Public Library (2021-2022)

Virtual Writer-in-Residence, Saskatchewan Writers' Guild (2020)

Winner, Elgin Award for Poetry Chapbook, Science Fiction Poetry Association, for Leviathan (2017)

Semi-finalist, Anthony Hecht Prize, Waywiser Press, Babbage’s Dream (2015)

Winner, Beyond Baroque Poetry Contest, for “Vigil” (2014)

Winner, DJS Translation Prize, for co-translations of Lü De’an, Sun Wenbo, Jiang Tao, Qin Xiaoyu,Yang, Xiaobin, Zhang Zhihao, Liu Jiemin, Yu Xiang, Lü Yue, and Jiang Li (2011)

Winner, Philip Levine Prize, CSU Fresno/Anhinga Press, The Lost Country of Sight (2008)

Finalist, May Swenson Prize, Utah State University Press, The Lost Country of Sight (2007)

Semi-finalist, Elixir Press Prize, Elixir Press, The Lost Country of Sight (2007)

Semi-finalist, Elixir Press Prize, Elixir Press, The Lost Country of Sight (2006)

Semi-finalist, Brittingham-Pollak Prizes, University of Wisconsin, The Lost Country of Sight (2005)

Winner, Prairie Poetry Friends’ Prize, for “Adrift” (2004)

Poetic forms and styles

Print poetry

Other writing expertise

Academic writing
Creative non-fiction
Libretto
Literary fiction
Speculative writing
Translation

Additional writing experience

Interactive fiction game

Translations

Translator of contemporary Chinese poetry.

BOOK THIS POET TODAY

Contact poet directly

I'm available for school visits, readings, lectures, and panels - to be given in person or virtually.

If you're interested in my services as a writing coach or manuscript editor/evaluator, please feel free to contact me at neil.aitken@gmail.com or through my website (www.neil-aitken.com).

International bookings

I'm open to teaching, reading, and travelling outside of Canada, and have given readings, lectures, and workshops throughout the United States.

RECENT READINGS (2016-Present)
Anhinga Poets Reading (AWP), Passages Bookshop, Portland, OR, Mar 28, 2019
Triptych Tapestry, LitCrawl Portland, Ace Hotel, Portland, OR, Nov 9, 2018
All Kinds of Fur, Indivisible, Portland, OR, Sep 21, 2018
Why There Are Words PDX, Leach Botanical Gardens, Portland, OR, Aug 19, 2018
Where Poetry and History Meet, De-Canon, Milepost 5, Portland, OR, Aug 9, 2018
Whitenoise Project, IPRC, Portland, OR, Aug 6, 2018
IPRC 20th Anniversary, IPRC, Portland, OR, Jun 22, 2018
The Evershifting Diaspora: Kundiman Writers in the PNW, Literary Arts, Portland, OR, May 31, 2018
Displacement, Movement, & Loss, De-Canon, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR, May 18, 2018
EOC APIA Heritage Month, Multnomah County Board Room, Portland, OR, May 4, 2018
Sci Fi Poets Reading, Another Read Through, Portland, OR, Feb 22, 2018
Ghost Town Poetry, Angst Gallery, Vancouver, WA, Jan 11, 2018
Intersect Fest, Ford Food & Drink, Portland, OR, Dec 8, 2017
Whittier College, Whittier, CA, Nov 30, 2017
Two Idiots Peddling Poetry, Ugly Mug Cafe, Orange, CA, Nov 29, 2017
Spoken Word Club, Laguna Woods Village Community Center, Laguna Woods, CA, Nov 28, 2017
First Press Series, Woodbury University, Burbank, CA, Nov 27, 2017
Pop-Up Reading, Portland Wordstock Literary Festival, Portland, OR, Nov 11, 2017
Portland Community College, Sylvania, Portland, OR, Nov 7, 2017
Kundiman Reading, LitCrawl Seattle, Seattle, WA, Oct 19, 2017
De-Canon WORDS Reading, UNA Gallery, Portland, OR, Aug 5, 2017
Mother Foucault’s Bookshop, Portland, OR, Jun 23, 2017
Whitenoise Project, High & Low Gallery, Portland, OR, May 31, 2017
Association of Asian American Studies, Kells Irish Restaurant and Bar, Portland, OR, Apr 14 , 2017
Living Canon: Panel & Reading, High & Low Gallery, Portland, OR, Mar 11, 2017
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, Mar 6, 2017
Barnlight Bar, Eugene, OR, Mar 5, 2017
In Bloom: Kundiman Reading (AWP), BloomBars, Washington, D.C., Feb 11, 2017
Sundress Reading (AWP), Madame’s Organ, Washington, D.C., Feb 9, 2017
Another Read Through, Jan 26, 2017
Free Verse: Poetry & Improv, Brody Theater, Portland, OR, Dec 9, 2016
À Reading, Portland, OR, Oct 30, 2016
Mic Drop!, Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon, Portland, OR, 21 Sep 21, 2016
Another Read Through, Portland, OR, Jun 30, 2016
Verse of Ages Reading, Oregon Writers Colony, Portland, OR, Apr 13, 2016
The AWP After-Party “We Survived” Reading, Chevalier Books, Los Angeles, CA, Apr 3, 2016
Neuwerk Reading Series, The Waypost, Portland, OR, Jan 14, 2016

Editorial services

Poetry manuscript evaluation
Poetry manuscript editing
Individual poem editing
Fiction editing
Non-fiction editing
One-on-one mentoring

Editorial services: detail

I work with writers at every stage of their writing journey. Please visit my website (www.neil-aitken.com) for more information about my services and testimonials from past clients.