One Night Stanzas

“This woman is my inspiration for productivity… there is almost too much to love about her. she teaches poetry, writes consistently on two blogs, makes jewelry, gets awarded grants… oh, and writes amazing poetry that gets published (all the time). my favourite part of her public life is her commitment to hosting, and participating in, the conversation about her art form. there is a transparent honesty about her… a confidence that leads toward being uncompetitive which I find refreshing.” - Rachel Fachner, writer, tutor, choreographer, creative powerhouse!

“A flame-haired young lady,.. I decided to find out a little about her and I was delighted by what I discovered.” - Jim Murdoch, writer.

“I love the unrelenting upbeat nature of Claire’s blog. I find it the perfect antidote to any occasional grumpiness I may suffer from!” - Swiss, writer.

“Fabulous redhead Claire Askew is a working poet, arts editor & part-time tutor living in Edinburgh, Scotland. She’s a very busy & ambitious girl, with lots of good advice as to how to make it as a writer!” - Gala Darling, blogger.

My name is Claire Askew, and I’m the One Night Stanzas blog-owner and caretaker. I’m a tall and awkward poet from Edinburgh, Scotland, with crazy red hair and a fan-girlish love for Allen Ginsberg. Not so long ago, I was a young, inexperienced writer and I was clueless about everything from the proper way to write a sonnet to how to send my work to a publisher…

Now, I have a Masters degree in English Literature and a MSc in Creative Writing, both from the University of Edinburgh. I’ve taught and lectured in English and English Literature at various education establishments — currently, I’m teaching Literature & Communications at Edinburgh’s Telford College. My own writing’s appeared in heaps of places, including The Edinburgh Review, Poetry Scotland and The Herald Newspaper. In early 2008 I won the Grierson Verse Prize, the Sloan Prize for Writing in Lowland Scots Vernacular, and the Lewis Edwards Award for Poetry. I’ve recently been awarded the William Sharpe Hunter Memorial Scholarship, and I’m the Residency and Education Director — and a former Poet in Residence — of The London Poetry Festival. My work has been picked to appear in the Scottish Poetry Library’s 20 Best Scottish Poets of 2008 Anthology, and I’ve read at places like the Scottish Arts Club, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Right now I’m working on putting together my first ever book of poetry, due sometime in the next few months!

I had to learn all that writerly stuff the hard and painful way, and it sucked. But luckily, you don’t have to do all that! One Night Stanzas is here to provide you with all the information you need — and more, hopefully! — to kick-start your writing life and career.

When I’m not scribbling articles, reading all your gorgeous poems or replying to poetry-related emails, I also run a literary magazine called Read This, which, like One Night Stanzas, aims to promote the work of young and emerging writers. Read This Magazine recently branched out and Read This Press — a poetry micropress producing handmade artisan chapbooks — was born! You can check out my books and some of the other literary goodies I make in the Read This General Store! I also collect colourful stickers, vinyl records and ancient typewriters, haunt thrift stores, people-watch, and devour books, books and more books!

You can subscribe to ONS, catch up with me on deviantART, follow me at Twitter and friend my Flickr. If you’re interested in Read This, check out the website, our deviantART, and Read This Press‘ homepage! Remember to check out the Read This Store too.
You can also buy yourself a great book from the ONS bookstore!