Carolyn Jess-Cooke

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland Jess-Cooke graduated from The Queen’s University of Belfast with a BA (1st class Hons), MA (Creative Writing), and a PhD in Shakespeare on film. Formerly a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Northumbria, Jess-Cooke is Poetry Advisor for Mslexia, an artistic assessor for the Arts Council England and sits on the bursaries panel for Literature Wales.

She has written for a range of public art commissions, notably a poem set into a 700m steel floorscape at the Roseberry Park health facility in Middlesbrough.    

Poetry

Inroads (Seren, 2010)

Fiction

The Guardian Angel’s Journal (Little, Brown/ Piatkus, 2011)

Other genres

Shakespeare on Film (Wallflower, 2007)

Film Sequels (Edinburgh UP, 2009)

Apocalyptic Shakespeares (co-edited with M. Croteau; McFarland, 2009)

Second Takes: Critical Approaches to the Film Sequel (co-edited with C. Verevis; SUNY, 2010)

Awards/Honours

Arts Council of England Award (2004)

Tyrone Guthrie Prize for Poetry (2004)

Eric Gregory Award (2005)

Northern Promise Award (2008)

New Poetry London Award (2010) shortlist

Reviews

“Jess-Cooke is a poet of both achievement and promise; whose future work will be worth looking out for, but who also deserves to be read and enjoyed now.” Ben Wilkinson, Poetry Review

“Here is a first collection that does all the things a good debut (though I loathe that word) should do. It explores a fabulous range of tone and form. It flexes its muscles. It creates an uneasy shiver on one page, has you chortling with delight on another. I liked being introduced to Carolyn Jess-Cooke. I’m pretty sure I’m going to like whatever she goes on to do.” – Helena Nelson, Ambit magazine