Maggie Brookes-Butt is a British poet and novelist.

Background

Maggie Brookes-Butt is an ex-journalist and BBC TV producer turned poet and novelist. Her seventh poetry collection is ''Wish - new and selected poems'' (Greenwich Exchange) January 2025. Her sixth collection ''everlove'', was published in April 2021 as Maggie Butt by ''

The London Magazine ''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and poetry. A number of Nobel Laureates, including Annie Ernaux, Albert Camus, Doris Les ...

''. Her first historical novel, ''The Prisoner's Wife'' was published in 2020 under her maiden name Maggie Brookes. It was published by imprints of

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada and also in the Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, Mexico and the Netherlands. Her second historical novel ''Acts of Love and War'', was published internationally in 2022. She has been a

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its lon ...

fellow and Associate Professor at

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

, where she taught creative writing for 30 years. Her poetry has been published in international magazines and anthologies and been turned into choreography and a mobile phone app as well as set to music. She has judged many poetry competitions. After completing an English degree, Maggie (then Brookes) became a newspaper reporter at the Kingsbridge Gazett

and Hendon Time
moving
to BBC Television, BBC TV as a documentary writer, producer and director. She later returned to her first love of poetry and fiction, completing a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in creative writing from

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

. Maggie Butt's first poetry pamphlet, ''Quintana Roo'', was published by Acumen Publications in 2003. Her first full collection of poetry, ''Lipstick''
was
published in March 2007 by Greenwich Exchange; a launch event was held at

Keats House Keats House is a writer's house museum in what was once the home of the Romantic poet John Keats. It is in Keats Grove, Hampstead, in inner north London. Maps before about 1915 show the road with one of its earlier names, John Street; the ...

br>in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, North London. Her edited collection of essays, ''Story - The Heart of the Matter'', was also published by Greenwich Exchange in October 2007. An e-book and MP3, "I Am The Sphinx", were published by Snakeskin online poetry journal in 2009. Her collection of short poems, "petite", was published by Hearing Ey
in
2010, and turned into a dance piece "Ashes" by choreographer Dr Lesley Mai

''Ally Pally Prison Camp'', published in June 2011 by Oversteps Books, charts the use of

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...

br>in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

as a 'concentration camp' for civilian enemy aliens during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It tells the story of the internees through black and white photographs, the paintings of internee George Kenner, extracts from memoirs and letters, and Maggie Butt's own poems. The poems and stories from ''Ally Pally Prison Camp'' have been recorded and brought alive for visitors to Alexandra Palace in a locative mobile phone app called ''Time Stood Still'' produced by Dr Helen Bendo

''Sancti Clandestini - Undercover Saints'', published November 2012 by Ward-Wood Publications, is a fully illustrated poetry collection, which proposes some alternative, imaginary saints, including the Patron Saints of liars, looters, rank outsiders, compulsive hoarders, old dogs and infidel girls. These undercover Patron Saints were illustrated by the staff and students of Middlesex University's BA Hons Illustratio
course
from famous and established artists to emerging talents.'If the proof of a poem is in the richness of response it provokes, the illustrations here are that response made visible - a testimony to the subtle layers in this tender but incisive poetry.' Phili
Gross
''Degrees of Twilight'' was published by ''

'' in July 2015. These poems use history, memory, work and travel as lenses to examine the inevitable pains and sharp pleasures at the heart of our transient lives. ''everlove'' (2021) uses the artwork of Canadian artist Mary Behrens as inspiration for ekphrastic poems about the refugee crisis. ''Wish - new and selected poems'' (2025)ncludes poems from Maggie's six previous collections – about the strength of women, concern for our planet, and hope in the power of love – are gathered here alongside bitter-sweet new poems about the joys and fears of a grandmother in this troubled, vulnerable and precious world. Dr Maggie Butt was Chair of th
National Association of Writers in Education
(NAWE) from 2007-2012, and founding Principal Editor of the peer reviewed journal Writing in Practice. Maggie lives in

. She is married with two grown-up daughters and two grand-daughters.

Books

*''Quintana Roo'', Maggie Butt (Acumen Publications 2003) *''Lipstick'', Maggie Butt, (Greenwich Exchange 2007) *''Story - The Heart of the Matter'', Maggie Butt (Greenwich Exchange 2007) *''Petite'', Maggie Butt (Hearing Eye 2010) *''Ally Pally Prison Camp'', Maggie Butt (Oversteps Books 2011) *''Sancti Clandestini - Undercover Saints, Maggie Butt (''Ward-Wood 2012) *''Degrees of Twilight'', Maggie Butt (The London Magazine, 2015) *''The Prisoner's Wife'', Maggie Brookes (Penguin Random House 2020) *''everlove'', Maggie Butt (The London Magazine, 2021) *A''cts of Love and War'', Maggie Brookes (Penguin Random House 2022) *''Wish - new and selected poems'' Maggie Butt (Greenwich Exchange 2025)

References

External links

Maggie Butt's Website
* Maggie Brookes' websitehttps://www.maggiebrookes.uk/
Profile at Middlesex University

Profile at Royal Literary Fund

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butt, Maggie English women poets Living people Year of birth missing (living people)