Liz Berry (born 1980) is a British poet. She has published two

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...

s and one full-length poetry collection. Her poetry collection, ''Black Country'', was named poetry book of the year by several publications, including ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''.

Early life and education

Born in 1980, Berry was raised in the

Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. She trained as a school teacher and initially taught in a primary school. She became interested in poetry after taking a beginners' poetry class at a local college. She later attended the

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

, where she earned an MA in

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

Poetry career

Berry was a recipient of the

Eric Gregory Award The Eric Gregory Award is a literary award given annually by the Society of Authors for a collection by British poets under the age of 30. The award was founded in 1960 by Dr. Eric Gregory to support and encourage young poets. In 2021, the seven ...

in 2009. The award is given by the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...

to British poets under the age of 30.. Berry's first

, ''The Patron Saint of School Girls'', was published by tall-lighthouse in 2010. She won the ''Poetry London'' competition in 2012 for the poem ''Bird''. In 2014,

Chatto and Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his business ...

published ''Black Country'', Berry's first poetry collection. ''Black Country'' won the

Forward Prize The Forward Prizes for Poetry are major British awards for poetry, presented annually at a public ceremony in London. They were founded in 1992 by William Sieghart with the aim of celebrating excellence in poetry and increasing its audience. The ...

for Best First Collection, the

Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize The Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize is a British literary prize established in 1963 in tribute to Geoffrey Faber, founder and first Chairman of the publisher Faber & Faber. It recognises a single volume of poetry or fiction by a United Kingdom, Irish ...

, and the

Somerset Maugham Award The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors. Set up by William Somerset Maugham in 1947 the awards enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience in foreign countries. The awa ...

. ''Black Country'' was selected as poetry book of the year by several publications, including ''

''. Berry's writing is rooted in the landscape and dialect of the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. In 2014,

Ben Wilkinson Alistair Benjamin Wilkinson (born 25 April 1987), better known as Ben Wilkinson, is a former professional footballer and is currently working at Manchester City's academy. He played as a midfielder for Hull City, Harrogate Town, Gretna, York ...

in ''The Guardian'' summarized ''Black Country'': "It digs deep into the poet’s West Midlands roots, enlivening and reimagining the heritage of that eponymous heartland of iron foundries, coal mines and steel mills, on both personal and public footings". The ''Republic of Motherhood'', Berry's second

, was published by Chatto and Windus in 2018. The title poem won the

for Best Single Poem. Currently living in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, Berry works for the

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, Patricia Cumper is Ch ...

and other organizations as a poetry tutor.

Works

* (2010)—''The Patron Saint of Girls'', tall-lighthouse, * (2014)—''Black Country'',

, * (2018)—''The Republic of Motherhood'', Vintage Digital, * (2021)–''The Dereliction'' with Tom Hicks, Hercules Editions * (2023)–''The Home Child'',

Chatto & Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his business ...

Awards

* (2018)—

Forward Prizes for Poetry The Forward Prizes for Poetry are major British awards for poetry, presented annually at a public ceremony in London. They were founded in 1992 by William Sieghart with the aim of celebrating excellence in poetry and increasing its audience. The ...

for Best Single Poem, ''Republic of Motherhood'' * (2015)—

for ''Black Country'' * (2014)—

for Best First Collection, for ''Black Country'' * (2014)—

* (2012)— ''Poetry London'' competition * (2009)—

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Liz 1980 births Living people 21st-century British writers British women poets People from Birmingham, West Midlands 21st-century British women writers