Neil Aitken

Poet, Translator

Vancouver, BC
Canada
British Columbia CA
Email: 
neil.aitken@gmail.com
Website: 
www.neil-aitken.com
Twitter/X: 
@neil_aitken

Author's Bio

Neil Aitken is the author of two full-length collections of poetry: Babbage's Dream (Sundress, 2017) and The Lost Country of Sight (Anhinga, 2008), winner of the 2007 Philip Levine Prize. His poetry chapbook, Leviathan (Hyacinth Girl Press, 2016), was awarded the Elgin Prize for sci-fi poetry chapbook. The founding editor of Boxcar Poetry Review, he also serves as the curator of Have Book Will Travel, the co-director of De-Canon: A Visibility Project, and the host of The Lit Fantastic podcast and radio show. He is a past Kundiman Poetry Fellow and in recent years served as the Virtual Writer-in-Residence for the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild and the Writer-in-Residence for the Regina Public Library. He recently moved to Vancouver, BC to pursue a Master's in Library & Information Science at UBC. He continues to work as a freelance creative writing coach and manuscript editor.

Education: 
University of California, Riverside MFA
University of Southern California PhD

Publications & Prizes

Poetry

Anthologies:
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 Publishing, 2016)
,
Free Monster Poems (Hyacinth Girl Press, 2015)
,
Aspects of Robinson: Homage to Weldon Kees (Backwaters Press, 2011)
,
Don't Blame the Ugly Mug: Ten Years of Two Idiots Peddling Poetry (Tebot Bach, 2011)
,
Blue Arc West: An Anthology of California Poets (Tebot Bach, 2006)
,
Homage to Vallejo (Greenhouse Review Press, 2006)
,
Literary Angles (Sybaritic Press, 2005)
Books:
Babbage's Dream (Sundress Publications, 2017)
,
The Lost Country of Sight (Anhinga Press, 2008)
Chapbook:
Leviathan (Hyacinth Girl Press, 2016)
Journals:
Adroit Journal
,
American Literary Review
,
American Poetry Journal
,
Anagram
,
Anti-
,
Avatar Review
,
Barn Owl Review
,
Beyond the Valley of the Contemporary Poets
,
Concelebratory Shoehorn Review
,
Cossack Review
,
Crab Orchard Review
,
Diagram
,
Dialogist
,
Diode
,
Disquieting Muses
,
Eleven Eleven
,
Exit 7
,
Hyphen
,
Inscape
,
Iron Horse Literary Review
,
Kartika Review
,
Lantern Review
,
MiPOesias
,
Moria
,
Ninth Letter
,
Normal School
,
Ostrich Review
,
Pebble Lake Review
,
Poetic Diversity
,
Poetry Southeast
,
Portland Review
,
Prairie Poetry
,
Radar Poetry
,
Redactions
,
RHINO
,
Rhino Magazine
,
Rock & Sling
,
Collagist
,
Silk Road
,
Sou'wester
,
Southern Poetry Review
,
Spillway Magazine
,
Stirring : A Literary Collection
,
Sunstone
,
TAYO Literary Magazine
,
The Drunken Boat
,
THRUSH Poetry Journal
,
Valparaiso Poetry Review
,
Washington Square Review
,
Weave Magazine

Translation

Book:
The Book of Cranes: Selected Poems of Zang Di by Zang Di, translated from the Chinese (Vagabond Press, 2015)
Prizes won: 
  • Elgin Prize for Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Chapbook (for Leviathan). 2016.
  • DJS Translation Prize (for co-translations of 10 contemporary Chinese poets). 2012.
  • Philip Levine Prize for Poetry (for The Lost Country of Sight). 2007.
  • Prairie Poetry Friends' Prize (for "Adrift"). 2004.

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Philip Levine, Li-Young Lee, Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Eugenia Leigh, Oliver de la Paz, Larry Levis, Chris Abani, Michael Ondaatje, Robertson Davies, Jane Kenyon, Jane Hirschfield

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
Asian American, Canadian, Chinese, Mixed-Race
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Vancouver, BC
Canada
British Columbia
Raised in: 
Regina, SK
Canada
Saskatchewan
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Sep 04, 2023