Elected: 2016
Discipline: History, Theory and Practice of the Creative and Performing Arts
Professor John Burnside
Professor of Creative Writing, University of St Andrews
Professor John Burnside is a Scottish writer and poet whose work has had a national and international impact in enhancing the profile of Scottish literature. He is a prominent advocate for environmental awareness and has influenced new generations of Scottish writers though his work, teaching at St. Andrews, and through festivals, workshops and mentoring schemes in the UK and Internationally, including through the Scottish Book Trust. John has led residential courses in both poetry and prose at The Arvon Foundation (UK) and has held workshops at a number of other institutions, including New York University, Princeton University, Southern Illinois University, and the University of Michigan. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the T.S. Eliot Prizes in 2011 and Forward Prizes for Poetry in 2011 for ‘Black Cat Bone’, only the second poet to have won both prizes for the same book.