Garry MacKenzie
Garry MacKenzie was born in Glasgow in 1985. He is a poet, creative writing tutor, writer and literature scholar, who teaches literature and creative writing in a variety of community and higher education settings. He has an MLitt in creative writing and a PhD in contemporary poetry from the University of St. Andrews. He is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of Dundee, 2022-2024.
In 2010, Garry was awarded a Scottish Book Trust New Writer Award for his poetry. He won the 2009 Robert McLellan Poetry Award with Photograph of Newcastle United Football Club Changing Rooms, 1938 and the 2016 Wigtown Poetry Award with his poem Newcastle Central Station.
In 2021, Garry published his book-length poem Ben Dorain: a conversation with a mountain (Irish Pages Press, 2021). Ben Dorain includes a free verse translation of Duncan Bàn Macintyre’s In praise of Ben Dorain, an eighteenth century poem about a West Highland mountain and its herd of red deer. With introductions by Kathleen Jamie and Meg Bateman, Garry’s poem combines his translation with original material, which draws on contemporary ecology, environmental philosophy and the politics of land use. It forms a unique conversation between the 250-year-old poem and the modern world. Garry held an Artist’s Residency at Outlandia Field Station near Fort William to work on Ben Dorain. He has a poetry pamphlet forthcoming in 2023 – ring-net, published with Clutag Press Poetry.
Garry is also the author of Scotland: A literary guide for travellers, a comprehensive introduction to literature from and about Scotland. An exploration of how the country’s history, landscape and society are reflected in its literature, Scotland covers a wide range of genres, languages and time periods.
Garry Mackenzie lives in Fife, Scotland and is married to novelist Victoria MacKenzie.
Further Information
Garry MacKenzie’s website (external content)