MSt tutor Harry Man has won The Stephen Spender Prize 2021. The Prize is an annual competition for poetry in translation, with categories for young people (14-and-under, 16-and-under, and 18-and-under) as well as an open category for adults.
For more information about the prize and The Stephen Spender Trust, and to read Harry’s entry and those of the runners up, click here.
“Moscow, 1987. As the Cold War begins to thaw, one of the great novelists of the twentieth century, Graham Greene, meets his old MI6 boss and notorious Soviet spy, Kim Philby. The two men raise their vodka glasses and talk about old times. How much did Greene know about Philby’s ways? Did the Red Spy betray his old friend as much as he did his own country? And who is listening in the room next door…?”
A Splinter Of Ice arrives at the Jermyn Theatre on 14-30 October after an acclaimed national tour. Ben Brown‘s political drama is directed by Alan Strachan with Alastair Whatley, and stars Olivier Award winner Oliver Ford Davies (Game of Thrones) as Graham Greene, Stephen Boxer (The Crown) as Kim Philby, with Karen Ascoe as his wife Rufa.
A Co-production with Original Theatre. More details here.
Dr Clare Morgan, founder and director of the MSt in Creative Writing, will this month be judging the Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 2021.
In a town in which the history of the English language can be traced back by centuries, the Flash Fiction prize celebrates one of the newest forms in literature with a biannual competition and a prize of £1000.
The panel instructs entrants to ‘delight us, surprise us, scare us.’ See the website for news of the winning entry, and information about past winners and future competitions.
MSt Tutor Helen Mort’s dedicated edition of BBC R4’s Poetry Please is available on BBC Sounds till 31st July, 2020.
“Helen Mort … she chooses her favourite poems. Including works by Wordsworth, Norman MacCaig and Karen McCarthy Woolf. “
MSt tutor Ella Hickson has been announced as the Old Vic Theatre’s new Associate Artist, hosting Creatives’ Corner instagram live chat, Wednesdays at 3pm.
From the Old Vic’s website:
“We are delighted to announce award-winning playwright Ella Hickson as our new Old Vic Associate Artist. Every Wednesday at 3pm, Ella will be leading conversations on Instagram Live with emerging talent from across different creative disciplines as we gain an insight into what it means to be working in theatre today.”
Visit the Creatives’ Corner.
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MSt tutor Marian Womack’s novel The Golden Key has been published by Titan Books. From the release note:
“After the death of Queen Victoria, England heaves with the uncanny. Séances are held and the dead are called upon from darker realms.
Helena Walton-Cisneros, known for her ability to find the lost and the displaced, is hired by the elusive Lady Matthews to solve a twenty-year-old mystery: the disappearance of her three stepdaughters who vanished without a trace on the Norfolk Fens.
But the Fens are an age-old land, where folk tales and dark magic still linger. The locals speak of devilmen and catatonic children are found on the Broads. Here, Helena finds what she was sent for, as the Fenland always gives up its secrets, in the end…”
MSt tutors Jane Draycott & Jenny Lewis will be reading at Carcanet’s 50 year celebration, Oxford, 20 Feb 2020.
The announcement:
| “Thursday 20 Feb 2020, 17:30 to 19:00 |
| Location:T S Eliot Theatre Merton College Oxford OX1 4JD |
| Description:Celebrate Fifty Years of Carcanet Press publishing some of the very best in contemporary poetry in an evening of readings and discussion Followed by a Drinks Reception at Merton College, Oxford. This convivial and informal evening hasbeen planned to highlight the poetry and creative practice of prominent poetson the Carcanet list, all of whom have connections to Oxford and the University. Join us to hear a range of readings by Peter McDonald, Jane Yeh, Rowland Bagnall, Jane Draycott, Peter Davidson and Jenny Lewis, and be part of a discussion that will take us from themes ofinfluence and tradition to a consideration of contemporary poetics and the roleof the poet in contemporary society. A drinks reception will follow thepresentation, where there will be an opportunity to meet the poets, purchasecopies of recent collections and learn more about the work of Carcanet Press inmaking a major contribution to our cultural life in the UK and beyond. The evening is hosted by Kirsty Gunn,Visiting Creative Research Fellow, Merton College. All welcome, no tickets necessary. “ |
MSt director Dr Clare Morgan shared her thoughts on “The Hidden Power of Poetry to Make Better Entrepreneurs” with the Wall Street Journal . The article (paywall) is available here.
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