Jacob Polley (born 1975) is a British

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and novelist. He has published four collections of poetry. His novel, ''Talk of the Town'', won 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 ...

in 2009. His latest poetry collection, ''Jackself'', won the

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 ...

in 2016. Polley has co-written two short films and collaborated on multimedia poetry installations in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Early life and education

Jacob Polley was born in 1975 in Carlisle,

. He grew up in Bowness-on-Solway, He studied

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

at Lancaster University from 1993 to 1996 and earned an MA in English and Creative Writing at the University in 1997.

Career

After graduation, Polley worked in various jobs, eventually landing the position of poet-in-residence at the ''Cumberland News'' in Carlisle. He taught poetry in local schools and later was awarded a two year fellowship at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. He was poet-in-residence at the Wordsworth Trust in 2002. Polley published his first poetry collection, ''The Brink'', ( Picador UK) in 2002. The collection was a Poetry Book Society Choice, and went on to be shortlisted for the

. From 2005 to 2007, Polley was a Visiting Fellow Commoner in the Arts at Trinity College. Polley's second collection, ''Little Gods'' (Picador UK, 2006), was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. In 2009, Polley published his first novel, ''Talk of the Town''. The book was published in 2009 by Picador UK and went on to win the 2010 Somerset Maugham Award and was also shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. In 2010, Polley was offered a position as lecturer at

University of St. Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. In 2011, Polley was invited to Australia to be Arts Queensland’s poet-in-residence. ''The Havocs'' (Pickador UK, 2012), is Polley's third collection of poetry. It was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation and won the 2012 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. It was also shortlisted for 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 Collection and for the T.S. Eliot Prize in 2012. Polley partnered with director Ian Fenton as co-writer on two short films, ''Flickerman and the Ivory-Skinned Woman'' (2002) and ''Keeping House'' (2015). ''Jackself'', Polley's latest collection of poetry, published in 2016 by Picador UK, won the prestigious

in 2016. Polley's collection was described by judges as "a firework of a book". In 2017, Polley collaborated with Dutch musicians, Strijbos and Van Rijswijk, to make 'To Travel and to Matter' - a poetry and sound installation project for the Lake District." Polley lectures at Newcastle University and lives in Fife,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Selected publications

* ''Jackself'', ( Picador UK, 2016), * ''The Havocs'', ( Picador UK, 2012), * ''Talk of the Town'', ( Picador UK, 2009), * ''Little Gods'', ( Picador UK, 2006), * ''The Brink'', ( Picador UK, 2003),

Screenwriting

*''Keeping House'', with co-writer and director, Ian Fenton, (2015),

Short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

*''Flickerman and the Ivory-skinned Woman'', with co-writer and director Ian Fenton, (2002),

Awards

, ''Jackself'', (2016) * Forward Poetry for Best Collection, ''The Havocs'', (2013) * Shortlisted for the

, ''The Havocs'', (2012) *

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 ...

, ''The Havocs'', (2012) *

for ''Talk of the Town'', (2010) * Selected one of

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 ...

from the

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 chai ...

, (2004) * Shortlisted for the

, ''The Brink'', (2012) * Eric Gregory Award from 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 ass ...

, (2002)

References

External links

Travel and to Matter'', Lake District Walking ExperienceHouse'' (2015), short film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polley, Jacob 1975 births Living people Alumni of Lancaster University People from Carlisle, Cumbria 21st-century British poets 21st-century English male writers English male poets T. S. Eliot Prize winners