Paul Farley,

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, th ...

(born 1965) is a British poet, writer and broadcaster.

Life and work

Farley was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. He studied painting at the

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

, and has lived in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

and

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

. His first collection of poetry, ''The Boy from the Chemist is Here to See You'' (1998) won a

Forward Poetry 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 ...

(Best First Collection) in 1998, and was shortlisted for the

Whitbread Prize The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

. The book also gained him 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 ...

, and in 1999 he won the

Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award The Sunday Times / University of Warwick Young Writer of the Year award is a literary prize awarded to a British author under the age of 35 for a published work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry. It is administered by the Society of Authors and ha ...

. From 2000 to 2002 he was the poet-in-residence at the

Wordsworth Trust The Wordsworth Trust is an independent charity in the United Kingdom. It celebrates the life of the poet William Wordsworth, and looks after Dove Cottage in the Lake District village of Grasmere where Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy Wordswort ...

in Grasmere. His second collection, ''The Ice Age'' (2002), received the

Whitbread Poetry Award The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

. In 2004, Farley was named as one of the Poetry Book Society's

Next Generation poets The Next Generation poets are a list of young and middle-aged figures from British poetry, mostly British, compiled by a panel for the Poetry Book Society in 2004. This is a promotional exercise, and a sequel to the New Generation poets (1994). The ...

His third collection, ''Tramp in Flames''(2006), was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize, a poem from which, ‘Liverpool Disappears for a Billionth of a Second’, was awarded 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 Individual Poem.Liverpool Disappears for a Billionth of a Second by Paul Farley
. ''The Guardian''. 1 August 2005. The same year he also published a study of

Terence Davies Terence Davies (born 10 November 1945) is an English screenwriter, film director, and novelist, seen by many critics as one of the greatest British filmmakers of his times. He is best known as the writer and director of autobiographical films ...

' film, ''

Distant Voices, Still Lives ''Distant Voices, Still Lives'' is a 1988 British period drama film written and directed by Terence Davies. It evokes working-class family life in Liverpool during the 1940s and early 1950s, paying particular attention to the role of popular mus ...

''. In 2007 he edited a selection of

John Clare John Clare (13 July 1793 – 20 May 1864) was an English poet. The son of a farm labourer, he became known for his celebrations of the English countryside and sorrows at its disruption. His work underwent major re-evaluation in the late 20th ce ...

for Faber's ''Poet to Poet'' series. As a broadcaster he has made many arts, features and documentary programmes for radio and television, as well as original radio dramas, and his poems for radio are collected in ''Field Recordings:BBC Poems 1998-2008''. He makes regular appearances on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

’s '' Saturday Review'', '' Front Row'' and

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

's ''The Verb'', and he presented the contemporary poetry programme ''The Echo Chamber'' on Radio 4 from 2012 to 2018. His book, ''Edgelands'', a non-fiction journey into England’s overlooked wilderness (co-authored with

Michael Symmons Roberts Michael Symmons Roberts FRSL (born 1963 in Preston, Lancashire) is a British poet. He has published eight collections of poetry, all with Cape (Random House), and has won the Forward Prize, the Costa Book Award and the Whitbread Prize for Poetr ...

) was published by Jonathan Cape in 2011; it received the

Royal Society of Literature 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, th ...

’s

Jerwood Award The Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Awards for Non-Fiction were financial awards made to assist new writers of non-fiction to carry out new research, and/or to devote more time to writing. The awards were administrated by the Royal Society of ...

, the Foyles Best Book of Ideas Award 2012 and was serialised as a BBC Radio 4 ''

Book of the Week ''Book of the Week'' is a BBC Radio 4 series that is broadcast daily on week days. Each week, extracts from the selected book, usually a non-fiction work, are read over five episodes; each fifteen-minute episode is broadcast in the morning (9:45a ...

''. His fourth collection ''The Dark Film'', was a

Poetry Book Society The Poetry Book Society (PBS) was founded in 1953 by T. S. Eliot and friends, including Sir Basil Blackwell, "to propagate the art of poetry". Eric Walter White was secretary from December 1953 until 1971, and was subsequently the society's chair ...

Choice in 2012. In 2009 he received the

E. M. Forster Award The E. M. Forster Award is a $20,000 award given annually to an Irish or British writer to fund a period of travel in the United States. The award, named after the English novelist E. M. Forster, is administered by the American Academy of Arts and L ...

from the

American Academy of Arts & Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqua ...

. He was elected a Fellow of the

in 2012. He currently lives in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

and is Professor of Poetry at

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

. His fifth collection ''The Mizzy'' has been shortlisted for the 2019 Costa Poetry Award and the T. S. Eliot Prize 2019

Awards

*1996 ''Observer''Arvon International Poetry Competition *1998

Geoffrey Dearmer Award The Geoffrey Dearmer Award is an annual poetry prize founded in 1997 and run by the Poetry Society in memory of the poet Geoffrey Dearmer (1893–1996), who at 103 was the Society's oldest member. By establishing an endowment fund, the Dearmer fami ...

*1998

for Best First Collection, ''The Boy from the Chemist is Here to See You'' *1999

*1999

*2000 Arts Council Writer's Award *2002

, ''The Ice Age'' *2005

for Best Single Poem, "Liverpool Disappears for a Billionth of a Second" *2007 Griffin International Poetry Prize, shortlist, ''Tramp in Flames'' *2009 Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Award for Non-Fiction, ''Edgelands'' *2009

(American Academy of Arts & Letters) *2009 Travelling Scholarship of the Society of Authors *2012 Foyles Best Book of Ideas, ''Edgelands'' *2012

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 600 Fellows, elec ...

*2013 Cholmondeley Award of the Society of Authors *2019

T. S. Eliot Prize The T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is a prize that was, for many years, awarded by the Poetry Book Society (UK) to "the best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland" in any particular year. The Priz ...

, shortlist, ''The Mizzy'' *2019

Costa Poetry Award The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

, shortlist, ''The Mizzy''

Works

Bibliography

*''The Boy from the Chemist is Here to See You'' (London:

Picador A ''picador'' (; pl. ''picadores'') is one of the pair of horse-mounted bullfighters in a Spanish-style bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the ''tercio de varas'', which is the first of the three stages in a stylized bullf ...

, 1998) *''The Ice Age'' (London: Picador, 2002) *''Distant Voices, Still Lives'' (London: British Film Institute, 2006) (about the film of the same name by Terence Davies) *''Tramp in Flames'' (London: Picador, 2006) *''Field Recordings: BBC Poems (1998-2008)'' (London: Donut Press,Donut Press
/ref> 2009) *''The Atlantic Tunnel: Selected Poems'' (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010) *''Edgelands: Journeys into England's True Wilderness'' (with

) (London:

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...

, 2011) *''The Dark Film'' (London: Picador, 2012) *''Selected Poems'' (London: Picador, 2014) *''Deaths of the Poets'' (with

) (London:

, 2017) *''The Mizzy'' (London: Picador, 2019) *Contributor to ''A New Divan: A Lyrical Dialogue Between East and West'' (

Gingko Library Gingko is a UK-based charitable foundation created in 2014 to promote dialogue and understanding with the Middle East, West Asia and North Africa through conferences, publications, events and cultural programmes. It should not be confused with Ging ...

, 2019). *Contributor to ''Refractive Pool: Contemporary Painting in Liverpool ''(contains ''The Studio'') (Refractive Pool, 2021). As Editor *''John Clare Selected Poems'' (London: Faber & Faber, 2010)

References

External links

British Council -- Contemporary Writers: Paul FarleyPoetry Archive--Profile, including audio clipsGriffin Poetry Prize biography, including video clipKeynote speech at the 2008 Griffin Poetry Prize awards gala, including video clipsGranta 102: The New Nature WritingThe Guardian: In conversation: Mark Haddon and Paul Farley57 Productions: Interview57 Productions: Liverpool Disappears for a Billionth of a SecondIntelligent Life: InterviewThe Observer: Once upon a life
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farley, Paul 1965 births Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Living people Poets from Liverpool Academics of Lancaster University 21st-century British poets 21st-century English male writers English male poets