Astley, Neil 1953–

PERSONAL: Born May 12, 1953, in Portchester, England; son of Philip Thomas (a chartered accountant) and Margaret Ivy (Soleman) Astley. Education: University of Newcastle upon Tyne, B.A. (with first class honors), 1978.

ADDRESSES: Home—Northumberland, England. Office—Bloodaxe Books Ltd., Highgreen, Tarset, Northumberland NE48 1RP, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Stand (magazine), Newcastle upon Tyne, England, production editor, 1975–78; Morden Tower (poetry readings organization), Newcastle upon Tyne, publications editor, 1976–78; Bloodaxe Books Ltd., Newcastle upon Tyne, founder, editor, and managing director, 1978–. Poet and writer; also worked as a journalist.

AWARDS, HONORS: Eric Gregory Award, Society of Authors, 1982; Poetry Book Society recommendation, 1988; Litt.D., University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 1996; nomination for Whitbread Prize, best first novel, Booksellers Association of Great Britain and Ireland, 2002, for The End of My Tether.

WRITINGS:

POETRY

The Speechless Act, Mandeville Press (Los Angeles, CA), 1984.

Darwin Survivor, Peterloo Poets (Calstock, Cornwall, England), 1988.

Biting My Tongue, Bloodaxe Books (Tarset, Northumberland, England), 1995.

EDITOR

Ten North-East Poets, Bloodaxe Books (Tarset, Northumberland, England), 1980.

Poetry with an Edge, Bloodaxe Books (Tarset, Northumberland, England), 1988, new edition, 1993.

New Blood, Bloodaxe Books (Tarset, Northumberland, England), 1999.

Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times, Bloodaxe Books (Tarset, Northumberland, England), 2002, Miramax Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Pleased to See Me: 69 Very Sexy Poems, Bloodaxe Books (Tarset, Northumberland, England), 2002.

Do Not Go Gentle: Poems for Funerals, Bloodaxe Books (Tarset, Northumberland, England), 2003.

Being Alive: The Sequel to "Staying Alive", Bloodaxe Books (Tarset, Northumberland, England), 2003.

Passionfood: 100 Love Poems, Bloodaxe Books (Tarset, Northumberland, England), 2005.

OTHER

Tony Harrison (criticism), Bloodaxe Books (Tarset, Northumberland, England), 1991.

The End of My Tether (novel), Flambard (Hexham, England), 2002.

The Sheep Who Changed the World (novel), Flambard Press (Hexham, England), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Neil Astley once told CA: "Before going to the university, I worked as a journalist for four years and was living in Darwin, Australia, in 1974 when the city was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Another Chicago Magazine, spring, 1995, reviews of Ten North-East Poets and Poetry with an Edge, p. 215; fall, 1995, review of Poetry with an Edge, p. 238.

Bloomsbury Review, November, 1989, review of Poetry with an Edge, p. 9.

Booklist, March 1, 1989, review of Poetry with an Edge, p. 1087; March 15, 2000, Patricia Monaghan, review of New Blood, p. 1318.

British Book News, April, 1981, review of Ten North-East Poets, p. 245; October, 1984, review of Ten North-East Poets, p. 585.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2000, review of New Blood, p. 434.

Library Journal, December, 2003, Diana McRae, review of Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times, p. 125.

Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2003, Stephen Dunn, review of Staying Alive, p. R-17.

New Statesman, March 6, 1982, Michael Norton Schmidt, review of Ten North-East Poets, p. 21; July 1, 2002, review of Staying Alive, p. 39; July 22, 2002, review of Staying Alive, p. 54; December 2, 2002, review of Pleased to See Me: 69 Very Sexy Poems, p. 47.

New Statesman and Society, November 25, 1988, John Lucas, review of Darwin Survivor, p. 43.

Observer, March 15, 1981, review of Ten North-East Poets, p. 33; April 14, 1991, review of Tony Harrison, p. 63; September 7, 2003, review of The End of My Tether, p. 18.

Oxford Poetry, Volume 5, number 2, 1990, September, 2004, review of Staying Alive, p. 392.

Ruminator Review, fall, 2003, review of Staying Alive, p. 53.

School Librarian, February, 1989, review of Darwin Survivor, p. 38; autumn, 2002, review of Staying Alive, p. 164.

Spectator, October 11, 2003, Venetia Ansell, review of The End of My Tether, p. 50.

Theology, July-August, 2004, Rosemary Lain-Priestle, review of Do Not Go Gentle: Poems for Funerals, pp. 313-314.

Times Educational Supplement, March 22, 1991, review of Tony Harrison, p. 29; July 5, 2002, Sian Hughes, review of Staying Alive, p. 28; October 1, 2004, Sian Hughes, review of Being Alive: The Sequel to "Staying Alive", p. 19.

Times Literary Supplement, January 9, 1981, review of Ten North-East Poets, p. 39; June 9, 1989, Mark Wormald, reviews of Darwin Survivor and Poetry with an Edge, p. 641; November 29, 1991, Patricia Craig, review of Tony Harrison, p. 24; December 29, 1995, review of Biting My Tongue, p. 28.

World Literature Today, winter, 1997, review of Biting My Tongue, p. 164.