Tiffany Atkinson (born 1972) is a British academic and award-winning poet. In 1993, she moved to Wales, where after completing her studies in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

, she became a lecturer in English and Creative Writing at

Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth University ( cy, Prifysgol Aberystwyth) is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The universi ...

. In 2014, she was appointed Professor of Creative Writing at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

. She was the recipient of the Roland Mathias Poetry Award.

Biography

Born in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under m ...

, Germany, to an army family, Atkinson was brought up in Germany and Britain. After graduating in English at

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

in 1993, she moved to Wales, where she gained a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in critical theory from Cardiff University. Atkinson then conducted workshops and academic seminars in eastern Europe for the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh la ...

. In both 1993 and 1994, she won the BBC Radio's Young Poet of the Year contest. She became Senior Lecturer in English and Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University, while undertaking research into theories of the body and the history of anatomy, contemporary literature and poetry. She remained in Aberystwyth until 2014, when she moved to the University of East Anglia as Professor of Creative Writing.

Poetry and writing

Atkinson has published three poetry collections: ''Kink and Particle'' (2006), ''Catulla et al'' (2011), and ''So Many Moving Parts'' (2014). ''Kink and Particle'' looks back on a thirty-year-old's memories of childhood and adolescence, and glimpses the future. The book gained positive reviews, won the Jerwood Aldeburgh First Collection Prize and became a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. ''Catulla et al'' is a modern rendering of the poetry of

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poetry, Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical h ...

. Writing in ''The Guardian'', Patrict McGuinness welcomes the collection as being "in the finest tradition of creative adaptation: keeping the originals as ballast, but unafraid to sail off on their own tangents." ''So Many Moving Parts'', depicting the awkward relationship of body and spirit and their sometimes surprising practical effects, won the Roland Mathias Poetry Award in 2015. Furthermore, Atkinson has written prose works and edited a collection of essays entitled ''The Body'' (2003).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Tiffany 1972 births Living people People from Berlin 21st-century British poets Alumni of Cardiff University Academics of Aberystwyth University Academics of the University of East Anglia