Emma Must (born 1966) is an English environmental activist, teacher, and poet.[1][2]

Emma Must
Born1966 (age 57–58)
NationalityEnglish
Occupation(s)Environmental activist, poet, teacher
AwardsGoldman Environmental Prize (1995)

Biography edit

Must was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1995[3] for her efforts on land protection, particularly her influence on British road building policies through her road protest against the M3 motorway extension at Twyford Down, near where she grew up.[4][5] She went on to work with Alarm UK![3] (an umbrella group for the nationwide road building protest), Transport 2000[3] (later renamed Campaign for Better Transport), and the World Development Movement.[3]

Must studied a PhD in Creative Writing at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen's University in Belfast,[2] focusing on eco-poetry and eco-criticism.[6] She has been published in magazines and journals in Ireland and the UK,[6] such as Abridged, The Open Ear and The Poet's Place.[2][7] In 2016 she was named as one of the Rising Generation of poets by Poetry Ireland Review.[8] In 2019 she won the inaugural Environmental Defenders Prize at the Ginkgo Awards for her poem, "Toll".[5][8]

She previously worked as a librarian.

Publications edit

  • The Ballad of Yellow Wednesday. (Scarborough: Valley Press, December 2022). ISBN 9781915606044
  • Notes on the Use of the Austrian Scythe. Matlock, Derbyshire: Templar Poetry, 2015. ISBN 190628542X.
  • The Future always makes me so Thirsty: New Poets from the North of Ireland. Newtownards, Northern Ireland: Blackstaff, 2016. Edited by Sinéad Morrissey and Stephen Connolly, with Miriam Gamble, Stephen Sexton, Adam Crothers, and Must. ISBN 978-0856409714.

Awards edit

  • 1995: Goldman Environmental Prize[3]
  • 2013: Second prize at the Strokestown International Poetry Awards for Notes on the Use of the Austrian Scythe[2][9]
  • 2015: Templar Portfolio Award[10]
  • 2019: Environmental Defenders Prize at the Ginkgo Awards[11]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Poetry News, The Poetry Society, Summer 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2011 Archived 31 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d Emma Must, Strokestown International Poetry Festival. Retrieved 26 March 2014 Archived 7 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b c d e Goldman Environmental Prize: Emma Must. Retrieved 28 November 2007
  4. ^ Williams, Rhys (27 July 1993). "Protester jailed for defying Twyford Down ban is freed: Activist agrees to abide by injunction to stay away from M3 site at centre of environmental battle". The Independent. Retrieved 26 March 2014. ONE of the seven protesters jailed last Friday for defying a High Court injunction was freed ... The other six protesters - Jason Torrance, Philip Pritchard, Simon Fairlie, Robert Bear, Rebecca Lush and Emma Must - are expected to serve out their term. ... Emma Must, 27, who works as a children's librarian in Winchester and is a member of the Friends of Twyford Down, has been involved in the campaign since the beginning of the year.
  5. ^ a b Ward, Jasmine. "Toll". Ginkgo Prize. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Notes on the Use of the Austrian Scythe". templarpoetry. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Emma Must | Strokestown Poetry". 1 April 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  8. ^ a b Stephen. "Emma Must Reads for the John Hewitt Society". johnhewittsociety.org/. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  9. ^ Service (clouddataservice.co.uk), Cloud Data. "Review: Emma Must - 'Notes on the Use of the Austrian Scythe' - Latest News". Lagan Press. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Submissions & Awards". templarpoetry. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Emma Must". The Cambridge Writing Retreat. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2021.

External links edit