About Jean
My story
My first collection, the narrative poem, In an Oubliette, came out in 2005. In the eighteen years since then, I have published collections at irregular intervals. Life and professional commitments get in the way of all of us.
I also translate poetry by women, a couple of these very well known, and others a little bit forgotten. I am currently working on poetry by Maria Valupi, a Portuguese poet who wrote in French, Portuguese and Spanish, in Oporto and published her work in the 40s, 50s and 60s.
Most of the time I am very busy with teaching, research and the great blight of most professions these days, administration. So, like most poets and literary translators, I steal pockets of spare time to write.
Latest poetry
Since The Muted Blade (2017) I appear to have had a long hiatus. Really it was a question of finding time to finish one book, Her Fated Place (2023), another narrative poem which began life long before my first collection appeared; and to deal with the shock of No Immediate Remedy (2024), a reaction to Covid and other political events which erupted into my creative space during and just after the series of lockdowns we all experienced. Two collections in short order may look like overkill but it will be a while before the next one shows its face.
