Our teaching is handled by our ever-changing faculty of freelance poets. Information about our poetry tutors can be found on the courses they teach. For general enquiries please email [email protected].
James Trevelyan – Artistic DirectorJames is our Artistic Director while Isy is on maternity leave. He joins The Poetry School from Birmingham-based poetry publisher The Emma Press, where he has been Director since 2023. Alongside being a freelance arts producer, he was formerly Sales & Marketing Manager at Penned in the Margins before working for 5 years as a Literature Relationship Manager at Arts Council England. As a writer, he has an MA in Creative Writing, his play scripts have been prize-longlisted, and his poetry pamphlet DISSOLVE to: L.A. was published by the Emma Press in 2016.
Lusungu Chikamata – Finance & Operations DirectorLusungu is our Finance & Operations Director. He brings over 10 years’ experience in finance and operations in the start-up sector and most recently at First Story, England’s leading creative writing charity for young people. He has a passion for collaboration, developing and implementing strategic business functions and charities that provide meaningful creative education.
Andrew Parkes – Head of ProgrammesAndy is our Head of Programmes. He programmes our in-person, video, and online courses. Andy has a BA in Media & Modern Literature and an MA in Modern Literary Theory, both from Goldsmiths, University of London. He founded the independent poetry press clinic in 2009.
Tessa is our MA in Writing Poetry Manager. She is also a poet and her three collections, Chalet Between Thick Ears, What Sort of Bird are You? and Try to Find Me are published with Live Canon. She has also been published in several poetry magazines and prize anthologies and performed her poetry across the UK. Tessa has taught as a university tutor of performance poetry, as a leader of therapeutic poetry-writing groups, and as a facilitator of poetry performance workshops.
Beth is currently working as our Marketing and Communications Manager whilst Jaz is on maternity leave. She has a BA in English Literature from Newcastle University and is passionate about live music, independent films and creative writing. She has previously worked for the charity Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children’s Books and the Emmerdale Studio Experience.
Jasmine Ward is our Marketing Manager and Laurel Prize Manager; she’s in charge of submissions and social media platforms. Jasmine previously managed the Betjeman Poetry Prize, a prize designed to spark creativity in early adolescents. She also has a history in PR and events. When she isn’t working on Laurel she is a freelance writer (specialising in satire), as well as a copywriter and artist.
Hannah Etim-Gorst – ChairHannah Etim-Gorst studied history at Warwick University and the University of Connecticut, during which time she was a UNESCO youth ambassador. Hannah has also studied art history at The Courtauld. She is a practising solicitor and has been on the board of trustees of the Poetry School for over a year.
In Hannah’s spare time, she loves theatre and dance, having trained in both for over 10 years. Hannah has appeared on stage (in both the UK and USA), in television and film, and will give 10 points to anyone who can spot her ‘starring’ in Harry Potter or Casualty!
Chris Brown OBE DL – Vice ChairChris Brown worked in engineering companies for most of his career and was Chief Executive of David Brown Group plc from 1990 to 1999. He has degrees in Law, Philosophy, History and Business Administration, and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Huddersfield.
He was Chair of the governing body of the University of Huddersfield from 2004 to 2019, and was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to higher education. He is also High Sheriff of West Yorkshire.
Jon Sharples – TrusteeJon Sharples practises as a qualified solicitor specialising in intellectual property and art law, and is on the board of Block 336 in Brixton.
Helen Taylor – TrusteeHelen Taylor (BA Hons Cantab) was Literature Officer for Cambridgeshire County Council for 9 years and is now a Literature Consultant and works for Carol Ann Duffy the Poet Laureate as PA and Laureate Project Coordinator. Helen taught in secondary schools for five years before becoming Head of Education at The Poetry Society. She has taught on the University of Cambridge’s MA in Children’s Literature and the PGCE course at the University of Cambridge. She has been a director of two Poetry Festivals and is now on the programming committee of the Cambridge Literary Festival. She has also worked for Cambridge City Council as Community Arts Liaison Officer and founded her own company The Voices Project, which developed and delivered creative projects in the community for local authorities and museums. Helen initiated and project managed the year long Poetry and Museums Project ‘Thresholds’ curated by the Poet Laureate which involved 10 poets in residence in 10 University of Cambridge museums and collections working with young people and writing new poems.
We currently don’t have any vacancies available, however if you are interested in working with The Poetry School please subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram for the latest opportunities.