Carol Rumens

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elec ...

(born 10 December 1944) is a British

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

Life

Carol Rumens was born in

Forest Hill Forest Hill or Forrest Hill may refer to: Places Australia * Forest Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Wagga Wagga * Forrest Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Albury * Forest Hill, Queensland * Forest Hill, Victoria ** Forest Hill Chase Sh ...

, South London. She won a scholarship to grammar school and later studied Philosophy at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, but left before completing her degree. She gained a Postgraduate Diploma in Writing for the Stage (with Distinction) from City College Manchester in 2002. She taught at University of Kent at Canterbury (1983–85),

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

(1991–93 and 1995–98),

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one ...

(1994),

University of Stockholm Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

(1999), and

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 millio ...

. As visiting Professor of Creative Writing, she has taught at the

University of Wales, Bangor , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

, and later at the

. Rumens was Poetry Editor for the publisher ''Quarto'' (1982–84) and the ''Literary Review'' (1984–88). Her work has appeared in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' and '' Harper's''. She was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...

in 1984.

Awards

* 1981: Alice Hunt Bartlett Award (joint winner), for''Unplayed Music'' * 1981: New Statesman Prudence Farmer Award, for ''An Easter Garland'' * 1984:

Cholmondeley Award The Cholmondeley Awards () are annual awards for poetry given by the Society of Authors in the United Kingdom. Awards honour distinguished poets, from a fund endowed by the Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley in 1966. Since 1991 the award has bee ...

* 1998: Belfast Arts Award for Literature (shortlist), for ''Holding Pattern'' * 1998: Forward Poetry Prize (Best Single Poem) (shortlisted for "A Day in the Life of Farmer Dream") * 2001: Cardiff International Poetry Competition (Fourth Prize, for "Kings of the Playground") * 2001: National Poetry Competition ("Stay in Touch") * 2002: Forward Poetry Prize (Best Single Poem) (shortlist)

Works

Poetry

* * * ''A Necklace of Mirrors'' Ulsterman, 1978 * * * * * ''Icon Waves'' The Star Wheel Press, 1986 * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Emigree ''The Emigree'' is a poem by British author Carol Rumens. The poem is about emigration, which is where the word "Emigree", the French form of "emigrate" comes from. Context The poem explores the memory of the speaker and their experiences in a ...

Novels

Editor

* *Slipping Glimpses: Winter Poetry Supplement (editor), Poetry Book Society, 1985 * * ''Two Women Dancing: New and Selected Poems of Elizabeth Bartlett'' (editor), Bloodaxe, 1995 * ''Old City, New Rumours: A Hull Anthology'' (editor Five Leaves Press, 2010

Plays

* ''Nearly Siberia'' (Pascal Theatre Company, Newcastle and London, 1989) * ''The Freak of the Week Show'' (EyeSpy Theatre Company, East Didsbury Studio, Manchester, 2001) * ''Suzanne Hecabe'' (Arden School of Theatre, Manchester, 2002).

Translations

* ''Pencil Letter'' /Irina Ratushinskaya (translator), Bloodaxe, 1988 * * ''After Pushkin'' (contributor), Carcanet, 2000 with Yuri Drobyshev * ''Yevgenii Rein: Selected Poems'' (translator), Bloodaxe, 2001

Non-fiction

*''Self into Song: Newcastle/Bloodaxe Poetry Lectures'', Bloodaxe, 2006 * * * *

References

External links

"Carol Rumens", ''doollee''

"Poem of the week: Christmas at Sea by Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Louis Stevenson telescopes the distance between a cosy Christmas scene and a life-and-death struggle on the high seas"
Carol Rumens, ''

'', 24 December 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rumens, Carol 1944 births Living people English women poets People from Forest Hill, London Alumni of the University of London Academics of the University of Kent Academics of Queen's University Belfast Academics of the University of Hull Academics of the University of Wales Academics of University College Cork Stockholm University faculty Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature