Jonathan Edwards (born 16 October 1979) is a Welsh poet, who was born in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

and grew up in Crosskeys. His debut poetry collection ''My Family and Other Superheroes'' won the

Costa Book Award for Poetry The Costa Book Award for Poetry, formerly known as the Whitbread Award (1971-2006), was an annual literary award for poetry collections, part of the Costa Book Awards. The award concluded in 2022. Recipients Costa Books of the Year are distingui ...

in 2014.

Biography

Edwards first came to prominence as the winner of the

Terry Hetherington Award Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–200 ...

in 2010, before picking up prizes at both the

Cardiff International Poetry Competition Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United King ...

and the Basil Bunting Poetry Competition in 2012. His first book, the poetry collection ''My Family and Other Superheroes'', won a £1,000 first-place prize at the

Ledbury Poetry Festival Founded in 1996 by a group of local poetry enthusiasts, the Ledbury Poetry Festival is now the biggest poetry festival in the UK. History The first Ledbury Poetry Festival was held in 1997 in Ledbury, Herefordshire. It was opened by jazz singer ...

's International Competition in 2014, and the Costa Book Award for Poetry in 2014. Edwards described the collection as reflecting a sense of Welsh

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and its relation to broader Western culture, history, family, and the lives of ordinary people. According to coverage of the Costa Award by '' The Daily Telegraph'', ''My Family and Other Superheroes'' saw "celebrities and fictional characters such as

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

and Evel Knievel collide with reflections on the social architecture of working class Welsh valleys." Edwards holds a BA in English and American Literature and an MA in writing from the University of Warwick. After winning the Terry Hetherington Award in 2010, he later went on to judge the award, and also edited the award's ''Cheval'' anthology between 2013 and 2017. He currently teaches English at a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in Monmouth.

Publications

Poetry

* 2014: ''My Family and Other Superheroes'', Seren *2018: ''Gen'', Seren

As editor

* 2013: ''Cheval 6: The Terry Hetherington Award Anthology 2013'' (ed. with Alan Perry), Parthian * 2014: ''Cheval 7: The Terry Hetherington Award Anthology 2014'' (ed. with Alan Perry), Parthian * 2015: ''Cheval 8: The Terry Hetherington Award Anthology 2015'' (ed. with Alan Perry), Parthian * 2016: ''Cheval 9: The Terry Hetherington Award Anthology 2016'' (ed. with Rose Widlake), Parthian * 2017: ''Cheval 10: The Terry Hetherington Award Anthology 2017'' (ed. with Glyn Edwards and Rose Widlake), Parthian

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Jonathan 1979 births Welsh male poets People from Caerphilly County Borough Alumni of the University of Warwick Welsh schoolteachers 21st-century British male writers 21st-century Welsh poets Living people