Karen McCarthy Woolf
Karen McCarthy Woolf | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1966 (age 57–58) London, England |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Website | www |
Karen McCarthy Woolf (born 1966)[1][2] is a poet of English and Jamaican parentage.[3]
Early life and education
Karen McCarthy Woolf was born in London to English and Jamaican parents.[1] Her father emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1957 as a part of the Windrush generation, and her experience and identity as a mixed-race woman has informed her poetry.[2]
She has a PhD (2018) from Royal Holloway, University of London: her thesis title was At the centre of the edge : contemporary ecological poetry and the sacred hybrid, and it focussed on the work of Louise Glück, Kei Miller and Joy Harjo[4][5]
Writing career
McCarthy Woolf was mentored on The Complete Works poets of colour mentoring scheme initiated by Bernardine Evaristo to redress representational invisibility. The scheme (2007–2017), funded by Arts Council England, was directed by Dr Natalie Teitler, during which time thirty poets were mentored.[6]
Her 2014 book An Aviary of Small Birds was shortlisted for the 2015 Best First Collection award of the Forward Prizes for Poetry[7] and the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize,[8] and chosen as an Observer poetry book of the month.[9]
The poem "Outside" from her Seasonal Disturbances was chosen by Carol Rumens as "Poem of the Week" in The Guardian in December 2017.[10]
In 2019, McCarthy Woolf was appointed Poet in Residence at University of California, Los Angeles.[11] She is a contributor to the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.[1][12]
McCarthy Woolf won second place in the 2020 Laurel Prize for her collection Seasonal Disturbances.[13]
In 2021 she was one of the judges of the 2020 National Poetry Competition.[14][15]
Selected publications
Authored
- The Worshipful Company of Pomegranate Slicers (2006, Spread The Word, ISBN 9780954008321)
- An Aviary of Small Birds (2014, Carcanet Press, ISBN 9781906188146)
- Seasonal Disturbances (2017, Carcanet, ISBN 9781784103361)
Edited
- Bittersweet: Contemporary Black Women's Poetry (1998, The Women's Press, ISBN 0704346079)
- Ten: The New Wave (2014, Bloodaxe Books, ISBN 9781780371108)
- Ten: Poets of the New Generation (2017, Bloodaxe, ISBN 9781780373829)
- Unwritten : Caribbean Poems after the First World War (2018, Nine Arches Press, ISBN 9781911027294)
References
- ^ a b c "Margaret Busby Presents: New Daughters of Africa | Part of Get Up Stand Up Now". Somerset House. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ a b Lowe, Hannah (2018). "Inside the Frame: Women Writers and the Windrush Legacy". Wasafiri. 33 (2): 6–8. doi:10.1080/02690055.2018.1431094. S2CID 166076679 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
- ^ "Karen McCarthy Woolf". Bloodaxe Books. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ "Catalogue record for thesis". Jisc Library Hub Discover. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ At the Centre of the Edge: Contemporary Ecological Poetry and the Sacred Hybrid (PDF) (PhD). Royal Holloway, University of London. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ "TCW 1". The Complete Works Poetry. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ "Forward Alumni 1992-Present". Forward Arts Foundation. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ "Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize – shortlist". poetrysociety.org.uk. The Poetry Society. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ Rumens, Carol (3 December 2017). "Carol Rumens's best poetry books of 2017". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ Rumens, Carol (25 December 2017). "Poem of the week: Outside by Karen McCarthy Woolf". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ Young, Nina (29 October 2019). "UCLA's newest poet-in-residence to explore intersection of storytelling and law". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ Hillhouse, Joanne C. (8 October 2018). "In Company with New Daughters of Africa". Jhohadli.
- ^ "Second Place". Laurel Prize for Poetry in Association with Poetry School. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ "National Poetry Competition". poetrysociety.org.uk. The Poetry Society. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021.
- ^ "'Read forensically': A National Poetry Competition interview with Karen McCarthy Woolf". poetrysociety.org.uk. The Poetry Society. 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
External links
- Official website
- "Karen McCarthy Woolf In conversation with Forward Arts Foundation"
- Interview with Karen McCarthy Woolf by The Poetry Extension
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