Carol Rumens

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

(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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Life

Carol Rumens was born in Forest Hill, South London. She won a scholarship to Manchester 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 A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

(1983–85),

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

(1991–93 and 1995–98),

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

(1994),

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, 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, social ...

(1999), and

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

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

University of Wales, Bangor Bangor University () is a public research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 became one of the founding institutions of the federal ...

, 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. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and ''

Harper's ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

''. 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 800 Fellows, elect ...

in 1984.

Awards

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

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 Academic staff of Stockholm University Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature