Fair Field Poet In Residence Call Out

Written almost 650 years ago by William Langland, Piers Plowman enters the mind of a wanderer, Will, as he falls asleep in the Malvern Hills, dreams of a ‘fair field full of folk’ and embarks on a quest to find Truth. Conceived and produced by multi-award-winning arts company Penned in the Margins, Fair Field re-imagines Piers Plowman for the twenty-first century through site-responsive performances in Shoreditch, London and Ledbury, Herefordshire, an exhibition at the National Poetry Library, educational workshops and more. Fair Field invites you to enter the psychedelic dreamscape of Piers Plowman — to explore a world of inequality, political corruption and spiritual crisis that is uncannily like our own. More information: thisfairfield.com

The Poetry School and Penned in the Margins are recruiting for a Poet in Residence to immerse themselves in the project, capturing and responding to the artistic programme, and communicating with new audiences online. The Residency will last from 11 May to 9 July and the fee is £1,000 including all travel and other expenses.

The exact shape of the residency will be part-directed by the interests of the succesful candidate, but what we are looking for will include …

–  New creative work produced in response to Piers Plowman/medieval poetry (could be film, audio or photography as well as text)
–  Minimum four blog posts documenting the Poet in Residence’s experiences and learning through the project
–  Interviews with artists involved
–  Communicating experiences via social media (e.g. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)

What you can expect …

– Regular meetings with the project’s creative director Tom Chivers
– Access to artists where practicable (including rehearsals)
– Access to academic advisor Dr Lawrence Warner
– Tickets to performances in London and Ledbury in July
– Chance to develop new creative work in a sympathetic context
– Learning about how a national arts project comes together
– Work showcased on Fair Field website and Poetry School blog

What we are looking for …

– A creative and energetic individual
– Someone active on social media
– A track record of writing and sharing your poetry (publication in magazines, online or pamphlet, or live events)
– An emerging poet of any age over 18
– Someone who demonstrates an openness to encountering medieval poetry, although no prior knowledge of medieval literature is required

How to apply 

Please note that there is a tight turn-around for applications to this project. Please email the following in one document (Word or PDF) titled ‘Fair Field Application [First name Surname]’

1. In no more than 500 words please outline why you are interested in the residency
2. Include weblinks to relevant work
3. Include a current CV

Please apply to:

Julia Bird, Creative Director, The Poetry School
[email protected]

AND

Tom Chivers, Director, Penned in the Margins
[email protected]

Schedule:

1. Applications must be submitted by midnight on 24 April 2017.
2. Poets will be notified by 27th April 2017 whether shortlisted or not
3. Interviews will be conducted via Skype / phone during the week beginning 1 May 2017
4. 2 – 10 May 2017: planning session with Penned in the Margins and the Poetry School
5. Residency will take place from 11 May – 8 July

Terms and conditions:

A one-off fee of £1000 will be offered to the poet inclusive of expense and VAT. No additional fees will be paid to reproduce the poet’s work online

All articles, poems written by the selected poet should be provided free of any charge and will be made available for sharing worldwide and in perpetuity with no restrictions