“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Yet another guest speaker at our school gives this ‘advice’ to our teenage ears. They hurriedly mention their first job/internship came from their aunt/neighbour/family friend but hey, if they could do it we could too. “Make sure you really work your contacts! Knock on doors! The worst thing they can do …
Page and Stage and the Spaces Between by Harry Josephine Giles
A poem doesn’t exist, for me, until I’ve felt it in my mouth. They often begin with a catch of sound, an earworm that bothers me until I give it space to wriggle about on the page. Sometimes I’ll find myself trying out lines as I cycle along, the polyrhythmic framework of pedals and breath giving shape to the poem. …
Academia / Odyssey / Lyric Essay by Jane Burn
Courage is multiplex. Part of courage is admitting what you do / do not know; courage is vulnerability before that which you greatly desire; courage is offering your underbelly to anomaly’s mercy. Courage is scrambling those acclivitous hills – each summit equating where you deserve / where you have fought to be. Academia is negotiation of cryptic terrain. The walls …
Poems on Pennine Peaks – a fundraising journey with Richard Skinner
In early June of 2022, author Richard Skinner will walk the 268 miles of the Pennine Way from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park to Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish border. He has gifted this walk to the memory of Rebecca Swift, and has opened a JustGiving campaign to …
Women Poets’ Prize judges 2022
As our biennial Prize prepares to open its doors to submissions, we’re delighted to introduce you to our three judges – Penelope Shuttle, Nikita Gill, and Abi Palmer. We asked them what they are looking for when they read new poetry… Penelope Shuttle I’d like to read poems that have taken language out of its comfort zone. I welcome both …
Rebecca Swift Foundation announces Women Poets’ Network, supported by Arts Council England
The Rebecca Swift Foundation is excited to announce it has received funding from Arts Council England to create an online network for women poets across the UK. The Women Poets’ Network has been specifically designed to respond to the challenges that women poets face, providing them with a space to vent, to discuss and find solidarity with one another. For …
Poets and Prizes – Thoughts of an Unprofessional Poet by Anja Konig
Anja Konig grew up in the German language and now writes in English. Her first pamphlet “Advice for an Only Child” was shortlisted for the 2015 Michael Marks Award and her first full collection “Animal Experiments” from Bad Betty Press was nominated for the 2021 Laurel Prize. She once won first and second place at the Stroud Poetry Competition, which …
Build Your Own Residency by Jo Bell
For many poets, paid time to be in residence at a particular location or organisation is the ultimate dream job. Time to think and write new things, or to build new ways of working with others – no wonder Jo is familiar with the question “So, how did you get this residency?“ It’s a question I’ve been asked each time …
Roots and Routes by Kat François
We continue our series of essays On Being A Woman Poet with performance artist Kat François’ reflections on her journey towards a life in poetry, the inspirational people and essential spoken word communities that showed her the way… I went to an all-girls inner-city secondary school and many of my teachers tried to steer us towards service careers, such as …
A Room, A Wall, A View by Shash Trevett
To begin our series of essays On Being A Woman Poet, we asked poet, translator and editor Shash Trevett to reflect on her experiences…