Geoff Cochrane
Geoffrey O'Neill Cochrane (1951 – November 2022) was a New Zealand poet, novelist and short story writer. He published 19 collections of poetry, a novel and a collection of short fiction. Many of his works were set in or around his hometown of Wellington, and his personal battles with alcoholism were a frequent source of inspiration.
Geoff Cochrane | |
---|---|
Born | Geoffrey O'Neill Cochrane 1951 Wellington, New Zealand |
Died | (aged 71) Wellington, New Zealand |
Occupation |
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Notable awards | Arts Foundation Laureate (2014) |
Life and career
Cochrane was born in Wellington in 1951 and attended St Patrick's College.[1] His family were Catholic,[2] and he has described his father as a "frustrated painter" who worked for New Zealand's betting organisation, the TAB.[3]
His first five poetry collections were published by private presses, beginning with Images of Midnight City in 1976.[2] Peter Simpson in The Press called this first collection a "strong beginning", describing Cochrane as a "very eloquent" poet with "a sure sense of rhythm and phrasing".[4] He began to write full-time in 1990, after giving up alcohol.[5] In 1992 a collection of poems from his earlier collections, plus 27 new poems, was published as Aztec Noon by Victoria University Press (VUP).[2] His publicist at VUP, Kirsten McDougall, noted "his work was widely ignored by those who give out prizes and seats at festivals".[6] The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature describes his poetry as "spare in form and precise in language", and of an "often melancholy mood".[2] Alcoholism and Wellington often feature in his poetry.[7]
Cochrane published two novels, Tin Nimbus (1995) and Blood (1997). Both are about an alcoholic's experiences with institutions in late 1970s Wellington,[2] reflecting Cochrane's personal experiences.[7][5] Tin Nimbus was a regional finalist in the 1996 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for best first book.[8] A review of Blood for The Sunday Star-Times said Cochrane "has injected into this full-blooded novel the futility and bewilderment, the fear and loathing, of everyday life";[9] The Evening Post compared it to the later work of Jack Kerouac.[10] Of his short fiction, collected in Astonished Dice (2014), reviewer Grant Smithies for The Sunday Star Times has said Cochrane "has a poet's economy with language, an alcoholic's understanding of pain, a lapsed Catholic's feel for mystery; a cinematographer's eye for a strong image".[11]
In 2009 he was awarded the Janet Frame Prize for Poetry.[7][8][12] In eight out of the twelve years from 2003 to 2014, and in 2019 and 2020, his poems were selected for the online anthology Best New Zealand Poems.[8][13][14][15] His 2007 entry in the anthology, "Chemotherapy", was written about the death of New Zealand author Nigel Cox.[16] In 2010 he received the first Nigel Cox Unity Books Award.[8][6]
In 2014 Cochrane was made an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate as one of New Zealand's "most outstanding practising artists".[17]
Cochrane died at his home in Wellington in November 2022, aged 71.[6][18] New Zealand's poet laureate Chris Tse wrote a poem in tribute titled "Starship (version)".[6]
Selected works
Poetry collections
- Images of Midnight City (1976)[1]
- Solstice (1979, with Victoria Broome and Lindsay Rabbitt)[1]
- The Sea the Landsman Knows (1980) ISBN 9780908595044
- Taming the Smoke (1983)[1]
- Kandinsky's Mirror (1989) ISBN 9780473008482
- Aztec Noon (1992) ISBN 9780864732316
- Into India (1999) ISBN 9780864733573
- Acetylene (2001) ISBN 9780864734198
- Vanilla Wine (2003) ISBN 9780864734716
- White Nights (2004) ISBN 9780959792225
- Hypnic Jerks (2005) ISBN 9780864735003
- 84-484 (2007) ISBN 9780864735584
- Pocket Edition (2009) ISBN 9780864736048
- The Worm in the Tequila (2010) ISBN 9780864736208
- The Bengal Engine's Mango Afterglow (2012) ISBN 9780864737618
- Wonky Optics (2015) ISBN 9780864739810
- Rededits (2017) ISBN 9781776561117
- The Black and the White (2019) ISBN 9781776562152
- Chosen (2020) ISBN 9781776564088
References
- "Cochrane, Geoff". Read NZ Te Pou Muramura. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- Mason, Andrew (2006). "Cochrane, Geoff". In Robinson, Roger; Wattie, Nelson (eds.). The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195583489.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-1917-3519-6. OCLC 865265749. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- "Interviewed by Damien Wilkins – Geoff Cochrane". Sport. 31. Spring 2003. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
- Simpson, Peter (1 July 1978). "First publications by two new poets". The Press. p. 15. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- Shakespear, Vivian (13 September 1997). "On the wagon, busy writing novels". Evening Post. ProQuest 314543054. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- "Remembering Geoff Cochrane, 1951–2022". The Spinoff. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- Noel-Todd, Jeremy (2013). "Cochrane, Geoff". In Noel-Todd, Jeremy; Hamilton, Ian (eds.). The Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191744525. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- "Geoff Cochrane's Biography". The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- Scott, Bede (14 September 1997). "Red-blooded lust in the capital". Sunday Star-Times. p. E7. ProQuest 313920188. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- Eager, Michael (12 September 1997). "Dread, Beat and Blood". The Evening Post. p. 5. ProQuest 314495352. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- Smithies, Grant (18 January 2015). "This perilous moral adventure". The Sunday Star-Times. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- Matthews, Philip (5 September 2009). "Frame pays". The Press. p. C10. ProQuest 314956753. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- "Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems". Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- Cochrane, Geoff (2019). "The Black and the White". Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- Cochrane, Geoff (2020). "The tattooed man". Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- Cochrane, Geoff (2007). "Chemotherapy". Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- "The Arts Foundation Laureate Award". The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- "Geoffrey Cochrane obituary". The Dominion Post. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
- "Tin nimbus | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- "Blood | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- "Astonished dice | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
External links
- Profile on Read NZ Te Pou Muramura website
- Interview of Cochrane by Damien Wilkins in the spring 2003 issue of Sport
- "Chemotherapy", poem by Cochrane published in Best New Zealand Poems (2007)