Rachael Boast (born 1975) is a British poet. She has published four poetry collections: ''Sidereal'' (2011), ''Pilgrim Flowers'' (2013), ''Void Studies'' (2016) and ''Hotel Raphael'' (2021).

Biography

Rachael Boast was born in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

in 1975. She graduated from

Wolverhampton University The University of Wolverhampton is a public university located on four campuses across the West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire in England. The roots of the university lie in the Wolverhampton Tradesmen's and Mechanics' Institute found ...

, studying English and

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. After graduation, she moved to the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

for ten years. In 2005, Boast moved to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

to work on an MLit in Creative Writing at St. Andrew's University She later was awarded a PhD, her thesis being "an examination of poetic technique with reference to

The Book of Job The Book of Job (; hbo, אִיּוֹב, ʾIyyōḇ), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), and is the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Scholars are ...

." Boast's literary role models include:

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake ...

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

, and poet, artist, and filmmaker

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

. Boast published her first poetry collection, ''Sidereal'', in 2011, her second collection, ''Pilgrim's Flower'', in 2013 and her third collection, ''Void Studies'', in 2016. Her work was published by Picador Books. Boast's poetry has appeared in literary magazines, including ''Archipelago'', ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' and ''The Yellow Nib''. Her work has also appeared in the anthologies ''Stolen Weather ''(Castle House Press), ''The Captain’s Tower: Seventy Poets Celebrate Bob Dylan at Seventy'' (Seren), and ''Addicted to Brightness'' (Long Lunch Press). Boast spends her time in both

and the West Country.

Poetry collections

*''Sidereal'', Picador Books, (2011) *''Pilgrim's Flower'', Picador Books, (2013) *''Void Studies'', Picador Books, (2016) *''Hotel Raphael'', Picador Books, (2021)

Awards

* (2011)

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. * (2012)

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Centre for Poetry Prize for best first collection. * (2014)

Griffin Poetry Prize The Griffin Poetry Prize is Canada's most generous poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. Before 2022, the awards went to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language. ...

shortlist for ''Pilgrims's Flower'' * (2015) Bristol Poetry Prize for poem ''Belle Époqu'' * (2016) T. S. Eliot Prize shortlist for ''Void Studies''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boast, Rachael 1975 births Living people Alumni of the University of St Andrews 21st-century British women writers 21st-century British poets Writers from Fife Alumni of the University of Wolverhampton