Arnold Johnston lives in Kalamazoo and South Haven, MI. His poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and translations have appeared widely in literary journals and anthologies. His plays, and others written in collaboration with his wife, Deborah Ann Percy, have won over 300 productions and readings, as well as numerous awards and publications across the country and internationally; and they’ve written, co-written, edited, or translated over twenty books, their most recent being The Old Fart Plays, just out from Dramatic Publishing Company.
Arnie’s recent books are The Infernal Now (poetry, Kelsay Books, 2022); Where We’re Going, Where We’ve Been (poetry, FutureCycle Press, 2020); Swept Away (novel, Atmosphere Press, 2021); and Mr. Robert Monkey Returns to New York (a collaboration with Debby, Brandylane Publishers, 2021). His other books include two poetry chapbooks, Sonnets: Signs and Portents and What the Earth Taught Us; The Witching Voice: A Play about Robert Burns; Of Earth and Darkness: The Novels of William Golding; and The Witching Voice: A Novel from the Life of Robert Burns.
His many English versions of Jacques Brel’s songs have appeared in musical revues nationwide and on his CD, Jacques Brel: I’m Here! Arnie and Debby’s award-winning one-act “Steering into the Skid” has had over 100 readings and productions nationwide and appears in The MemoryCare Plays (2014), an anthology of plays about Alzheimer’s disease. Their AIDS-related one-act “Love Is Strange” appears in Art & Understanding: The Twentieth Anniversary Anthology (2015). From 2009–2012 they were joint Arts and Entertainment columnists for the award-winning national quarterly journal Phi Kappa Phi Forum. A performer-singer, Arnie has played many solo concerts and over 100 roles on stage, screen, and radio. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Poets & Writers, the Associated Writing Programs, and the American Literary Translators Association.
He was chairman of the English Department (1997–2007) and taught for many years at Western Michigan University, where he co-founded the creative writing program and founded the playwriting program. He is now a full-time writer.
Find out more at:
Johnston-Percy-Writers.com
Paperback: 50 pages
Publisher: Kelsay Books (December 5, 2024)