An announcement from our Director

After six years as Director of the Poetry School, I will be stepping down from the role this summer. The Poetry School’s Board of Trustees will lead the search for a new Director with details of the recruitment process to be announced shortly. Although my time as Director will officially end in mid-August I will continue to support the Poetry School in a consultancy role throughout this phase of recruitment and transition to a new Director.

It’s been a huge honour and a privilege to have led the Poetry School and to have helped shape what is an open, progressive and increasingly confident organisation that exists for all readers and writers of contemporary poetry. With increased funding from Arts Council England and a new MA in Writing Poetry beginning this September with Newcastle University, the time feels right for a new Director to come in and lead the Poetry School on this next exciting chapter in its journey.

My thanks go out to staff, trustees and tutors, past and present, and those colleagues, partners and funders in the arts – particularly Arts Council England and Paul Hamlyn Foundation – who have all contributed to making the Poetry School such a great success and a special place to work these last six years. I also want to thank the thousands of students and CAMPUS members who together continue to make the Poetry School the most vibrant and inclusive community of poetic practice in the world. I firmly believe that the Poetry School’s best years still lie ahead of it and I look forward following its progress over the years to come.

Finally, if you would like to have an informal conversation about the Director role, please do drop me a line.