If you’re a new or emerging fiction writer aged 17-30 based in the North of England, there’s still time to apply for the subsidised 6-week Hive Online Fiction Programme I’m running with Hive South Yorkshire, starting on Thursday 10th February! The sessions will be weekly on Zoom (Thursdays, 6-8pm) and it will be super friendly …
Author Archives: Rachel Bower
Poetry Film: From Blossoms
It was such an honour to make a film of one of my favourite poems with the Adrian Brinkerhoff Foundation, directed by Matthew Thompson and produced with Poet in the City. Li-Young Lee‘s “From Blossoms” explores joy and loss, darkness and light, sugar and dust. It is one of those enviable poems that powerfully connects …
Bees, bees, bees!
Winter is a quieter time for beekeeping, but I’ve been busy over the last few months writing, filming and talking about bees! You can read my article about the beauty of beekeeping (and collecting a swarm of honey bees!) in Sheffield’s brilliant Now Then magazine. I was also commissioned to write a new poem for …
Review: Dream Catcher 43
This is the proof of my review of Alison Lock’s Lure and Sarah Wragg’s Ghost Walk, published in Dream Catcher 43. The issue is now available to order. Alison Lock, Lure. Cleckheaton: Calder Valley Poetry, 2020. ISBN: 978-1-9160387-6-9 Alison Lock’s Lure is a long, pamphlet-length poem, that narrates the speaker’s return to a Yorkshire millpond: …
New Collection: Available Now
“A stunning collection – moving, uplifting and timely.” Yvette Huddleston, Yorkshire Post My new poetry collection, These Mothers of Gods, is now available to buy! The book pushes towards a more expansive understanding of ‘motherhood’, inclusive of broader urgent issues about gender and our collective responsibilities for lives, environments and natural worlds. I’ll be reading …
Pre-Order New Collection
I am delighted that my new poetry collection, These Mothers of Gods, is now available to pre-order from Fly on the Wall Press. The book is out on 16 July and all pre-orders come with a free e-book. The book seeks to recover the lived experiences of women who have often appeared only fleetingly in …
Writing the Climate
I’ve been thinking (and writing) a lot recently about the climate emergency, and its unequal impact on different communities across the world. I am delighted that one of my new stories relating to this is published in The Hopper today. If you’re interested in reading and writing more about the climate, poet Linda France is …
Free writing workshop
I’m running a lunchtime writing workshop on Wednesday 5 May at Union St (online), exploring extraordinary things in everyday life. Come and join me to reflect on ordinary objects, routines and rooms, and to track down glimmers of hope, light and optimism! You don’t need any previous writing experience – just register and come along! …
Listening Project: Poem, Film, Tapestry
On 25 February, I took part in Digesting History – an event created as part of Collections in Verse: a collaboration between Poet in the City, The British Library and Sheffield Libraries. Inspired by the Anglo-Saxon tradition of feasting, the event brought people together in their homes for a unique dinner time experience, including the premiere …
For the babies born at sea
My new sestina “Water Birth” has just been published in the new issue of The London Magazine. The poem is available on The London Magazine website, and the full print issue is now also available to order. The poem is about the babies born in the Mediterranean Sea, many of them in treacherous conditions or …
Digital Feast – Sheffield Poetry/ Film
Tickets are now available for Digesting History, an online poetry/ dining event on 25 February at 8pm. It’s a collaboration between The British Library and Poet in the City, and there’ll be new poetry from myself, Kayo Chingonyi and Joe Kriss, as well as the premier of a new film, directed by the award-winning artist …
Rachel Bower 