Claire Crowther is a British poet and author of five full-length poetry collections, Stretch of Closures, The Clockwork Gift, On Narrowness, Solar Cruise and A Pair of Three and six pamphlets, Knithoard, Bare George, Silents, Incense, Mollicle, and Glass Harmonica. Crowther is Deputy and Reviews Editor of Long Poem Magazine.[1]
Education edit
Crowther was awarded a first class BA in English Language and Literature from Manchester University and a doctorate in creative writing from Kingston University.[1]
Career edit
The Clockwork Gift, Crowther's 2009 collection with Shearsman Books, is "a long poem project exploring the conflicts between the cultural expectations and real lives of twentieth-century grandmothers."[2] Of her third full-length poetry collection published in 2015, On Narrowness, it has been written that "her poetry is never easy [...] but it’s hugely rewarding, because Crowther’s curiosity about both words and the processes of living and dying compel you to consider familiar subjects in a fresh way."[3]
Crowther's poetry has been widely reviewed, being described in some cases as "urgent music [...] condensed, quick-witted poems,"[4] "quirky without being fey, not troubling to reassure the reader, [the poems] give the impression of an uncompromising intelligence at work,"[5] and "crystal-clear [but] more often [...] riddling, veering, mysterious; deadly serious or quietly funny."[6] Crowther's poetry has been published in several journals such as the London Review of Books, PN Review, Poetry Wales, and Blackbox Manifold, among others.[7][1]
In 2014, Crowther undertook a Poet-in-Residence position with the Royal Mint Museum[8] and she has also reviewed books[9][10] and written essays.[11][12]
Awards and honours edit
Crowther's collection Stretch of Closures (Shearsman Books, 2007)[13] was shortlisted for the Aldeburgh Best First Collection Prize.[2] In 2015 her work was published in the Best British Poetry 2015 with Salt Publishing.[14] Solar Cruise was awarded a Poetry Book Society Recommendation for Spring 2020.
Personal life edit
Crowther has two daughters and lives in Somerset with her husband Keith Barnham, a solar physicist.[15][16][17]
References edit
- ^ a b c "About | Long Poem Magazine". longpoemmagazine.org.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Claire Crowther | poetryarchive.org". poetryarchive.org. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ^ Merritt, Matt. "Magma 63 – Magma Poetry". magmapoetry.com. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ "PN Review Print and Online Poetry Magazine – Impressions Claire Crowther, Bare George, Shearsman, Carrie Etter, Scar, Shearsman, Helen Tookey, In the Glasshouse, HappenStance, David Wilson, Slope, smith/doorstop, Mark Hinchliffe, The Raven and the Laughing Head, Calder Valley, David Attwooll (poems) & Andrew Walton (drawings), Otmoor, Black Poplar, Geraldine Clarkson, Declare, Shearsman. Reviewed by Alison Brackenbury – PN Review 233". pnreview.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ^ "Stretch Of Closures – TheTLS". The Times Literary Supplement. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ^ "Claire Crowther THE CLOCKWORK GIFT – TheTLS". The Times Literary Supplement. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ^ Crowther, Claire (18 February 2016). "Poem: 'The Ghost of Marie Curie Works up a Chorus while Chatting to Enthusiasts at a Model Engine Rally in 2015'". London Review of Books. p. 10. ISSN 0260-9592. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ "Coin News – Museum News | The Royal Mint Museum". royalmintmuseum.org.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ^ "Poetry – Books in brief – TheTLS". The Times Literary Supplement. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ^ "Claire Crowther on J Wainwright – Magma Poetry". magmapoetry.com. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ "PN Review Print and Online Poetry Magazine – SyllabicsPsycho-Syllabics / Confessing to Syllabics – Claire Crowther – PN Review 229". pnreview.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ "The Portable Poetry Workshop". macmillanexplorers.com/creative-writing/the-portable-poetry-workshop/15387222. Retrieved 2 December 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Shearsman Poetry Books | British Poetry Books Titles A to C". shearsman.com. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ^ Salt. "Best British Poetry 2015". Salt. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ^ "Claire Crowther | poetryarchive.org". poetryarchive.org. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ "Poetry books | Modern Poetry | Classic Poetry | Poetry in Translation | Hispanic Poetry". shearsman.com. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ "A Medical Patient / Look". Rascal. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
