J T Welsch

Profile

Biography

JT Welsch joined the Department in September 2016 as Lecturer in English and Creative Industries. Prior to that, he was a lecturer, then Head of Creative Writing at York St John University, and, before that, an associate lecturer with the Open University and taught at the University of Manchester, while completing his PhD. JT studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston for his undergraduate degree, followed by an MA in Screenwriting and an MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London.

His teaching and research interests are in the contemporary creative industries, 20th- and 21st-century poetry, and the intersection between creative and professional practices more generally.

JT is the author of several books of poetry, including The Ruin (Annexe, 2015), Hell Creek Anthology (Sidekick, 2015), Waterloo (Like This Press, 2012) and Orchids (Salt, 2010). His monograph The Selling and Self-Regulation of Contemporary Poetry was published by Anthem in 2020, and a poetry anthology Wretched Strangers: Borders Movement Homes , co-edited with Ágnes Lehóczky, by Boiler House Press in 2018. He has also published articles and chapters on twentieth-century American poets, including William Carlos Williams, T. S. Eliot, John Berryman, and Elizabeth Bishop, with a focus on poets’ essays, letters, and manifestos. 

JT is director of the Centre for Modern Studies at York, co-director of Thin Ice Press, and co-ordinates the Writers at York event series. 

Research

Overview

JT is a specialist in the creative industries and 20th/21st century poetry. His research is primarily concerned with the relationship between creative and professional practices, and the social and economic structures underlying the writing industry.

His monograph, The Selling and Self-Regulation of Contemporary Poetry (Anthem, 2020), examines publishing, prizes, technology, and wider shifts in poetry culture since 2008. The anthology Wretched Strangers: Borders Movement Homes (Boiler House, 2018), co-edited with Ágnes Lehóczky (Sheffield), was assembled and followed by an extensive reading tour in response to the challenges faced by migrants in the UK and elsewhere. JT's articles and chapters on twentieth-century American poets include work on William Carlos Williams, John Berryman, TS Eliot, Gertrude Stein, and Elizabeth Bishop.

His research takes creative forms as well, often reflecting the relationship between creative and critical practice. Recent poetry books including The Ruin (2015), Pruit-Igoe: Appendix (2013), and the forthcoming How Many Loves engage with the ethics of creative labour. As co-founder of the department's letterpress studio, Thin Ice Press, he has also been exploring the relationship between writing and printing practices in a series of short-run publications.

JT is also director of the York's Centre for Modern Studies and convenor of the MA in Culture and Thought Since 1945. 

Projects

JT is finishing How Many Loves: Three Artists At Work, a set of poetic sequences examining the work and lives of three nineteenth-century painters (and those around them) amid the emergence of the modern creative industries.

A limited edition poetry collection, Flora & Fauna, currently being designed, typeset, and hand-printed by JT and with linocut illustrations by Joanna Lisowiec, will be published soon by Thin Ice Press.

He is also in the early stages of a larger research project on poetry and suicide.

Supervision

JT has supervised undergraduate and postgraduate research projects in the following areas:

• creative writing and creative practice
• creative industries and publishing
• contemporary poetry and poetics
• queer writing
• autofiction and creative-critical writing
• experimental writing
• film, screenwriting, and adaptation
• music
• digital literature (social media, interactive writing, online performance)
• games, graphic novels, podcasts, and other popular culture
• writing and consumer culture

He is convenor of the PhD in English with Creative Writing and the undergraduate Dissertation with Creative Practice, and is always happy to discuss possibilities for practice-led research and research-led practice.

External activities

Memberships

JT reads frequently from his own work, and has performed as part of the Ilkley Literature Festival, Manchester Book Market, London Poetry Book Fair, Leeds Book Fair, Nottingham Poetry Series, London Camaradefest and other public events throughout the UK. His writing for stage and screen has also been produced in Manchester and London. As an organiser, JT has facilitated a number of public performances, workshops, and discussions as part of the York Literature Festival, York Festival of Ideas, and other occasions throughout the region.

He served as founding editor of the York Literary Review and has written reviews or comment pieces for various journals, including the Manchester Review, The Wolf, Battersea Review, and B O D Y. JT is also an occasional contributor to discussions of film and television on BBC Radio York.

JT has overseen external student collaborations, including joint events with the University of Sheffield’s MA in Creative Writing, University Camarade in London, and student publications with Ripon Cathedral, Shandy Hall, and other regional institutions.

With Ágnes Lehóczky of the University of Sheffield, JT is currently editing and anthology of UK migrant poetry, which will be accompanied by a series of events bringing together UK-based migrant poets and scholars of postcolonial literature and migration.