Christopher Middleton (poet) facts for kids
John Christopher Middleton (born June 10, 1926 – died November 29, 2015) was a British poet and translator. He was especially known for translating German literature into English.
About His Life
John Christopher Middleton was born in Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom, in 1926. Before he went to college, he served for four years in the Royal Air Force. After his service, he studied at Merton College, Oxford, starting in 1948.
Middleton then worked as a professor at different universities. He taught at the University of Zürich and King's College London. In 1966, he became a Professor of Germanic Languages & Literature at the University of Texas, Austin. He taught there until he retired in 1998.
Middleton was a very talented translator. He translated works by famous writers like Robert Walser, Nietzsche, Hölderlin, Goethe, and Gert Hofmann. He received several important awards for his work, including the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and the Schlegel-Tieck Prize for translation.
Middleton married Mary Freer in 1953, and they had two daughters and a son. He passed away on November 29, 2015.
His Writings and Translations
John Christopher Middleton wrote many poems and essays. He also translated many books from German into English. Here are a few examples of his works:
Some of His Books
- Poems (1944)
- Torse 3 (1962)
- Nonsequences (1965)
- The Lonely Suppers of W. V. Balloon (1975)
- 111 Poems (Carcanet Press, 1983)
- The Balcony Tree (Carcanet Press, 1992)
- Collected Poems (Carcanet Press, 2008)
Books He Translated
- Kafka's Other Trial, by Elias Canetti (Schocken Books, 1974)
- Selected Stories, by Robert Walser (Carcanet Press, 1988)
- The Spectacle at the Tower, by Gert Hofmann (Carcanet Press, 1988)
- Our Conquest, by Gert Hofmann (Carcanet Press, 1988)
