Fred Johnston (writer): Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Irish poet, novelist, literary critic and musician}} |
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| birth_date = {{Birth year|1951}}<!-- {{Birth date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Birth-date and age|Month DD, YYYY}} --> |
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| birth_place = [[Belfast]], Northern Ireland |
| birth_place = [[Belfast]], Northern Ireland |
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| death_date = {{Death date and age|September 09, 2024|1951}}<!-- or {{Death-date and age|Month DD, YYYY|Month DD, YYYY}} (death date then birth date) --> |
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| occupation = Poet, novelist, literary critic, translator, musician}} |
| occupation = Poet, novelist, literary critic, translator, musician}} |
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'''Fred Johnston''' ( |
'''Fred Johnston''' (1951-2024) was an Irish poet, novelist, literary critic and musician. He was the founder and current director of the Western Writers' Centre in [[Galway]]. He co-founded the Irish Writers' Co-operative in 1974, and founded Galway's annual [[Cúirt International Festival of Literature]] in 1986. |
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== Life == |
== Life == |
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Johnson was born in [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]], into a mixed, unorthodox background: his father's side were Belfast, [[Methodist Church in Ireland|Methodist]], and both [[Unionism in Ireland|Unionist]] and [[Trade union]]ist; his mother's side were [[Dublin]], Catholic, followers of [[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]] and admirers of the [[Elizabeth II|Queen]].<ref name="cni1"> |
Johnson was born in [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]], into a mixed, unorthodox background: his father's side were Belfast, [[Methodist Church in Ireland|Methodist]], and both [[Unionism in Ireland|Unionist]] and [[Trade union]]ist; his mother's side were [[Dublin]], Catholic, followers of [[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]] and admirers of the [[Elizabeth II|Queen]].<ref name="cni1"> |
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{{cite web |url=http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/1146/fred-johnston |title=Fred Johnston Interview (Pt. 1) |author=Martin Mooney |publisher=[[Culture Northern Ireland]] |date=28 January 2011 |accessdate=12 December 2012 }} |
{{cite web |url=http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/1146/fred-johnston |title=Fred Johnston Interview (Pt. 1) |author=Martin Mooney |publisher=[[Culture Northern Ireland]] |date=28 January 2011 |accessdate=12 December 2012 }} |
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</ref> He spent the first seven years of his life in [[Toronto]], Canada.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vallummag.com/Review-Tysdal.html |title=Review of "Predicting The Next Big Advertising Breakthrough Using A Potentially Dangerous Method by Daniel Scott Tysdal (Couteau Books, 2006)" |author=Fred Johnston |publisher=Vallum Magazine |year=2007 |accessdate=4 January 2013 }}</ref> |
</ref> He spent the first seven years of his life in [[Toronto]], Canada.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vallummag.com/Review-Tysdal.html |title=Review of "Predicting The Next Big Advertising Breakthrough Using A Potentially Dangerous Method by Daniel Scott Tysdal (Couteau Books, 2006)" |author=Fred Johnston |publisher=Vallum Magazine |year=2007 |accessdate=4 January 2013 |archive-date=2 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402105314/http://www.vallummag.com/Review-Tysdal.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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He went to [[St Malachy's College]]'s grammar school in Belfast from 1962–68.<ref name="ricorso"> |
He went to [[St Malachy's College]]'s grammar school in Belfast from 1962–68.<ref name="ricorso"> |
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</ref> and in 1979 published his first collection of poems, ''Life and Death in the Midlands'', and a collection of short stories, ''Picture of a Girl in a Spanish Hat''. |
</ref> and in 1979 published his first collection of poems, ''Life and Death in the Midlands'', and a collection of short stories, ''Picture of a Girl in a Spanish Hat''. |
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From the early 1980s to the mid 1990s, Johnston contributed poetry and short |
From the early 1980s to the mid 1990s, Johnston contributed poetry and a short story to the [[Scotland|Scottish]] international literature, arts and affairs magazine, ''[[Cencrastus]]''.<ref>Johnston, Fred, ""An Doras", in Bold, Christine (ed.), ''Cencrastus'' No. 3, Summer 1980, p. 8, {{issn|0264-0856}}</ref><ref>Johnston, Fred, "The Native", in Murray, Glen (ed.), ''[[Cencrastus]]'' No. 6, Autumn 1981, pp.22 & 23, {{issn|0264-0856}}</ref><ref>Johnston, Fred, "Song at the Edge of the World" and "The Ascent of Language", in Raymond J. Ross (ed.), ''[[Cencrastus]]'' No. 26, Summer 1987, p. 45, {{issn|0264-0856}}</ref><ref>Johnston, Fred, "In the Poppy Field", in Ross, Raymond J. (ed.), ''[[Cencrastus]]'' No. 43, Autumn 1992, p. 10, {{issn|0264-0856}}</ref><ref>Johnston, Fred, "Faith", in Ross, Raymond J. (ed.), ''[[Cencrastus]]'' No. 50, Winter 1994, p. 7, {{issn|0264-0856}}</ref> |
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In 1986 he founded the poetry festival [[Cúirt International Festival of Literature|Cúirt]], which became an annual literary festival in Galway and is now one of the largest of its kind in Ireland.<ref name="transcript"> |
In 1986 he founded the poetry festival [[Cúirt International Festival of Literature|Cúirt]], which became an annual literary festival in Galway and is now one of the largest of its kind in Ireland.<ref name="transcript"> |
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In 2005 he founded the Western Writers' Centre, or in Irish Ionad Scríbhneoiri Chaitlín Maude (the [[Caitlín Maude]] Writers' Centre, after the [[Gaeltacht#Galway Gaeltacht|Galway Gaeltacht]] poet), which bills itself as "the only writers' centre West of the Shannon".<ref name="wwc">{{cite web |url=http://www.twwc.ie/ |title=The Western Writers' Centre – Home Page |accessdate=12 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121223030643/http://www.twwc.ie/ |archive-date=23 December 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The centre holds readings, lectures, workshops and courses, and organises the [[Gort]] literary festival. |
In 2005 he founded the Western Writers' Centre, or in Irish Ionad Scríbhneoiri Chaitlín Maude (the [[Caitlín Maude]] Writers' Centre, after the [[Gaeltacht#Galway Gaeltacht|Galway Gaeltacht]] poet), which bills itself as "the only writers' centre West of the Shannon".<ref name="wwc">{{cite web |url=http://www.twwc.ie/ |title=The Western Writers' Centre – Home Page |accessdate=12 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121223030643/http://www.twwc.ie/ |archive-date=23 December 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The centre holds readings, lectures, workshops and courses, and organises the [[Gort]] literary festival. |
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He |
He released two solo albums, ''Get You'' and ''Local Papers''.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}} |
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Johnston |
Johnston was a regular poetry reviewer for ''[[Poetry Ireland Review]]'' and ''Books Ireland'' and on occasion for the ''[[Southern Humanities Review]]'', ''[[The Irish Times]]'' and ''[[Harper's Bazaar|Harpers & Queen]]'', and has contributed to the literary magazines ''[[Orbis (journal)|Orbis]]'', ''[[New Letters (magazine)|New Letters]]'', ''[[The Southern Review]]'', ''[[Seneca Review|The Seneca Review]]'', and ''Irish Studies Review''.<ref name="ricorso" /> |
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== Books == |
== Books == |
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=== Poetry === |
=== Poetry === |
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* ''Life and Death in the Midlands'' (Enniskerry: Tansy Books, 1979) [[Online Computer Library Center|OCLC]] [ |
* ''Life and Death in the Midlands'' (Enniskerry: Tansy Books, 1979) [[Online Computer Library Center|OCLC]] [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/22526179 22526179] |
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* ''A Scarce Light'' (Dublin: Beaver Row Press, 1985) {{ISBN|978-0946308347}} |
* ''A Scarce Light'' (Dublin: Beaver Row Press, 1985) {{ISBN|978-0946308347}} |
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* ''Song at the Edge of the World'' (Galway: Salmon Poetry, 1987) {{ISBN|978-0948339127}} |
* ''Song at the Edge of the World'' (Galway: Salmon Poetry, 1987) {{ISBN|978-0948339127}} |
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* ''Measuring Angles'' (with cassette) (Spiddal: [[Cló Iar-Chonnachta]], 1993) {{ISBN|978-1874700111}} |
* ''Measuring Angles'' (with cassette) (Spiddal: [[Cló Iar-Chonnachta]], 1993) {{ISBN|978-1874700111}} |
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* ''Browne'' (Belfast: Lapwing Publications, 1993) {{ISBN|978-1898472063}} |
* ''Browne'' (Belfast: Lapwing Publications, 1993) {{ISBN|978-1898472063}} |
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* ''Canzoni con Accompagnamento d'Arpa'' (''Songs for Harp Accompaniment'', translated into Italian by Daniele Serafini) (Faenza: MobyDick, 1996) OCLC [ |
* ''Canzoni con Accompagnamento d'Arpa'' (''Songs for Harp Accompaniment'', translated into Italian by Daniele Serafini) (Faenza: MobyDick, 1996) OCLC [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/35075289 35075289] |
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* ''True North'' (Cliffs of Moher: Salmon Poetry, 1998) {{ISBN|978-1897648803}} |
* ''True North'' (Cliffs of Moher: Salmon Poetry, 1998) {{ISBN|978-1897648803}} |
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* ''Being Anywhere: New & Selected Poems'' (Belfast: Lagan Press, 2001) {{ISBN|978-1873687635}} |
* ''Being Anywhere: New & Selected Poems'' (Belfast: Lagan Press, 2001) {{ISBN|978-1873687635}} |
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* ''The Neon Rose'' (Bristol: Bluechrome Publishing, 2007) {{ISBN|978-1906061074}} |
* ''The Neon Rose'' (Bristol: Bluechrome Publishing, 2007) {{ISBN|978-1906061074}} |
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=== Short |
=== Short stories === |
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* ''Picture of a Girl in a Spanish Hat'' (Enniskerry: Tansy Books, 1979) OCLC [ |
* ''Picture of a Girl in a Spanish Hat'' (Enniskerry: Tansy Books, 1979) OCLC [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19678188 19678188] |
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* ''Keeping the Night Watch'' (Cork: The Collins Press, 1998) {{ISBN|978-1898256-58-8}} |
* ''Keeping the Night Watch'' (Cork: The Collins Press, 1998) {{ISBN|978-1898256-58-8}} |
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* ''Dancing in the Asylum'' (Cardigan: [[Parthian Books]], 2011) {{ISBN|978-1906998448}} |
* ''Dancing in the Asylum'' (Cardigan: [[Parthian Books]], 2011) {{ISBN|978-1906998448}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121223030643/http://www.twwc.ie/ The Western Writers' Centre – Home Page] |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121223030643/http://www.twwc.ie/ The Western Writers' Centre – Home Page] |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Fred}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Fred}} |
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[[Category:1951 births]] |
[[Category:1951 births]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:Male poets from Northern Ireland]] |
[[Category:Male poets from Northern Ireland]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Male guitarists from Northern Ireland]] |
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[[Category:Translators from Northern Ireland]] |
[[Category:Translators from Northern Ireland]] |
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[[Category:French–English translators]] |
[[Category:French–English translators]] |
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[[Category:Male novelists from Northern Ireland]] |
[[Category:Male novelists from Northern Ireland]] |
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[[Category:20th-century poets from Northern Ireland]] |
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[[Category:21st-century poets from Northern Ireland]] |
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[[Category:21st-century novelists from Northern Ireland]] |
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[[Category:Male short story writers from Northern Ireland]] |
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[[Category:20th-century short story writers from Northern Ireland]] |
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[[Category:21st-century short story writers from Northern Ireland]] |
Latest revision as of 21:07, 9 September 2024
Fred Johnston | |
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Born | 1951 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Died | September 9, 2024 | (aged 72–73)
Nationality | Irish |
Occupation(s) | Poet, novelist, literary critic, translator, musician |
Fred Johnston (1951-2024) was an Irish poet, novelist, literary critic and musician. He was the founder and current director of the Western Writers' Centre in Galway. He co-founded the Irish Writers' Co-operative in 1974, and founded Galway's annual Cúirt International Festival of Literature in 1986.
Life
[edit]Johnson was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, into a mixed, unorthodox background: his father's side were Belfast, Methodist, and both Unionist and Trade unionist; his mother's side were Dublin, Catholic, followers of Michael Collins and admirers of the Queen.[1] He spent the first seven years of his life in Toronto, Canada.[2]
He went to St Malachy's College's grammar school in Belfast from 1962–68.[3] During these years he learnt guitar and banjo and listened to and played folk music. He performed on the cabaret lounge circuit, made appearances on Ulster TV, released some singles and, aged 16, an LP of rebel and football songs called The Flags Are Out for Celtic.[4]
After school he moved to Dublin and worked in journalism, writing for the Evening Press and The Belfast Telegraph, and in Public Relations.[4] He had several prose pieces published in the New Irish Writing section (edited by David Marcus) of the Evening Press, and won a Hennessy Literary Award (the judges being V. S. Pritchett and James Plunkett) in 1972.[5]
In 1974 he met up with Neil Jordan and Peter Sheridan to found the Irish Writers' Co-operative, a publishing outlet for new Irish fiction. Early publications under its imprint Co-op Books were Desmond Hogan's The Ikon Maker (1976) and Ronan Sheehan's Tennis Players (1977).
He moved to Galway in 1978[6][7] and in 1979 published his first collection of poems, Life and Death in the Midlands, and a collection of short stories, Picture of a Girl in a Spanish Hat.
From the early 1980s to the mid 1990s, Johnston contributed poetry and a short story to the Scottish international literature, arts and affairs magazine, Cencrastus.[8][9][10][11][12]
In 1986 he founded the poetry festival Cúirt, which became an annual literary festival in Galway and is now one of the largest of its kind in Ireland.[13] He ended his association with it in 1988.[14]
In the 1990s he formed an Irish traditional folk group, Parson's Hat, which released two albums: Cutty Wren and The Better Match. Tracks by the group have been included on a number of compilation albums.[15]
In 2000 he received the Prix de l'Ambassade Translation bursary to work on translations of the French poet Michel Martin.[3] He has also translated the Senegalese poet Babacar Sall,[3] and more recently the Breton poet Colette Wittorski.
In 2004 he received The Ireland Fund of Monaco bursary to be writer-in-residence for a month at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco, where he continued working on his novel-in-progress The Neon Rose (published 2007), wrote some new poems, and sourced some Monégasque poems which he later translated.[16]
In 2005 he founded the Western Writers' Centre, or in Irish Ionad Scríbhneoiri Chaitlín Maude (the Caitlín Maude Writers' Centre, after the Galway Gaeltacht poet), which bills itself as "the only writers' centre West of the Shannon".[17] The centre holds readings, lectures, workshops and courses, and organises the Gort literary festival.
He released two solo albums, Get You and Local Papers.[citation needed]
Johnston was a regular poetry reviewer for Poetry Ireland Review and Books Ireland and on occasion for the Southern Humanities Review, The Irish Times and Harpers & Queen, and has contributed to the literary magazines Orbis, New Letters, The Southern Review, The Seneca Review, and Irish Studies Review.[3]
Books
[edit]Poetry
[edit]- Life and Death in the Midlands (Enniskerry: Tansy Books, 1979) OCLC 22526179
- A Scarce Light (Dublin: Beaver Row Press, 1985) ISBN 978-0946308347
- Song at the Edge of the World (Galway: Salmon Poetry, 1987) ISBN 978-0948339127
- Measuring Angles (with cassette) (Spiddal: Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 1993) ISBN 978-1874700111
- Browne (Belfast: Lapwing Publications, 1993) ISBN 978-1898472063
- Canzoni con Accompagnamento d'Arpa (Songs for Harp Accompaniment, translated into Italian by Daniele Serafini) (Faenza: MobyDick, 1996) OCLC 35075289
- True North (Cliffs of Moher: Salmon Poetry, 1998) ISBN 978-1897648803
- Being Anywhere: New & Selected Poems (Belfast: Lagan Press, 2001) ISBN 978-1873687635
- Paris Without Maps (Dingwall: Sandstone Press, 2003) ISBN 978-0954231248
- The Oracle Room (Blaenau Ffestiniog: Cinnamon Press, 2007) ISBN 978-1905614219
Novels
[edit]- Atalanta: A Novel (Cork: The Collins Press, 2000) ISBN 978-1898256922
- Mapping God = Le Tracé de Dieu (in English and French) (Galway: Wynkin deWorde, 2003) ISBN 978-0954260798
- The Neon Rose (Bristol: Bluechrome Publishing, 2007) ISBN 978-1906061074
Short stories
[edit]- Picture of a Girl in a Spanish Hat (Enniskerry: Tansy Books, 1979) OCLC 19678188
- Keeping the Night Watch (Cork: The Collins Press, 1998) ISBN 978-1898256-58-8
- Dancing in the Asylum (Cardigan: Parthian Books, 2011) ISBN 978-1906998448
Plays
[edit]- No Earthly Pole
Translations
[edit]- Northern Lights (poems by Colette Wittorski, from French) (Belfast: Lapwing Publications, 2007) ISBN 978-1907276064
Notes
[edit]- ^ Martin Mooney (28 January 2011). "Fred Johnston Interview (Pt. 1)". Culture Northern Ireland. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ Fred Johnston (2007). "Review of "Predicting The Next Big Advertising Breakthrough Using A Potentially Dangerous Method by Daniel Scott Tysdal (Couteau Books, 2006)"". Vallum Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d Bruce Stewart. "Fred Johnston – Life Works Criticism Commentary Quotations References Notes". ricorso.net. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ a b Martin Mooney (28 January 2011). "Fred Johnston Interview (Pt. 2)". Culture Northern Ireland. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ "Fred Johnston Creative Writing Workshops, Galway". indymedia.ie. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ "Interpoetry – Issue 12 – December 2005 – Fred Johnston". International Poetry and Art. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ "Being Anywhere: New & Selected Poems". Lagan Press. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ Johnston, Fred, ""An Doras", in Bold, Christine (ed.), Cencrastus No. 3, Summer 1980, p. 8, ISSN 0264-0856
- ^ Johnston, Fred, "The Native", in Murray, Glen (ed.), Cencrastus No. 6, Autumn 1981, pp.22 & 23, ISSN 0264-0856
- ^ Johnston, Fred, "Song at the Edge of the World" and "The Ascent of Language", in Raymond J. Ross (ed.), Cencrastus No. 26, Summer 1987, p. 45, ISSN 0264-0856
- ^ Johnston, Fred, "In the Poppy Field", in Ross, Raymond J. (ed.), Cencrastus No. 43, Autumn 1992, p. 10, ISSN 0264-0856
- ^ Johnston, Fred, "Faith", in Ross, Raymond J. (ed.), Cencrastus No. 50, Winter 1994, p. 7, ISSN 0264-0856
- ^ "Transcript – Fred Johnston". Literature Across Frontiers. 2003. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ "Fred Johnston – Ars Interpres Publications". Ars Interpres. 2004. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
- ^ "Parson's Hat – All Songs". allmusic. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ "Interview with Fred Johnston, Ireland Fund of Monaco "Writer-in-Residence" at the Princess Grace Irish Library, Monaco (Autumn 2004)". Retrieved 12 December 2012. "Princess Grace Irish Library – Bursaries". Princess Grace Irish Library. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ "The Western Writers' Centre – Home Page". Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
External links
[edit]- 1951 births
- Male poets from Northern Ireland
- Male guitarists from Northern Ireland
- Translators from Northern Ireland
- French–English translators
- Male novelists from Northern Ireland
- 20th-century guitarists from Northern Ireland
- 20th-century poets from Northern Ireland
- 21st-century poets from Northern Ireland
- 21st-century novelists from Northern Ireland
- Male short story writers from Northern Ireland
- 20th-century short story writers from Northern Ireland
- 21st-century short story writers from Northern Ireland