Because of an extremely busy schedule and other work commitments, Fiona Sampson is unable to tutor at the Poetry Carousel this year. I hope she will be able to come and tutor on another course in the near future, and those readers based in Cumbria might want to try and catch her when she appears at Borderlines Book Festival this year.
I’m disappointed not to be working with Fiona this year, but happy to announce that Greta Stoddart has agreed to step in to tutor on this year’s Carousel alongside myself, Andrew McMillan and Sean O’Brien. Those of you who were at the 2016 Kendal Poetry Festival may remember Greta from the fabulous reading she gave there alongside Fiona.
Greta Stoddart was born in Oxfordshire in 1966. Her first collection At Home in the Dark (Anvil) was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 2002. Her second book, Salvation Jane (Anvil), was shortlisted for the Costa Book Award 2008. She was also shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Individual Poem in 2012. Her third book, Alive Alive O (Bloodaxe, 2015), was shortlisted for the Roehampton Poetry Prize 2016.
Her latest work, a radio poem called ‘Who’s there?’ broadcast on BBC Radio 4 was shortlisted for the 2017 Ted Hughes Award.
She has been Fellow at Warwick University, Writer in Residence at Exeter University and tutor at Bath Spa University and Goldsmiths College. She now lives in Devon and teaches for the Poetry School and the Arvon Foundation.
Information about the workshop that Greta will be running will be posted on the Poetry Carousel page shortly, so watch this space.
Good choice 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thanks for the update Kim. Hilary x