About
“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.
Claire Askew was born in 1986 in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, but moved to the Scottish Borders as a child and has lived in Edinburgh for the past six years. Claire has a MA (Hons) in English Literature, a MSc in Creative Writing and is currently working on a PhD in Creative Writing and Contemporary Scottish Poetry, all with the University of Edinburgh. Having done a variety of day-jobs (day-lamber on a sheep farm, sales clerk in a chemical factory, legal secretary), Claire is now a college lecturer, currently teaching at Edinburgh’s Telford College and the University of Edinburgh. She also offers one-to-one private tuition in English Literature, Creative Writing and Drama.
Claire is also a poet, and her work has appeared in a variety of major publications including Poetry Scotland, The Edinburgh Review, Textualities and The Guardian. In 2008 she was awarded the Grierson Verse Prize, the Sloan Prize for Writing in Lowland Scots Vernacular, the Lewis Edwards Award for Poetry and the William Sharpe Hunter Memorial Scholarship for Creative Writing. She was also nominated for the Scottish Variety Best Young Scottish Writer of the Year Award in early 2009. In 2010 Claire was shortlisted for an Eric Gregory Award and was awarded the Virginia Warbey Poetry Prize.
Claire’s poems have twice been selected to appear in the Scottish Poetry Library’s Best Scottish Poems of the Year anthology (2008, 2009), alongside poets like Carol Ann Duffy and Edwin Morgan. She is also a regular on the Edinburgh performance poetry circuit, and has appeared at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The West Port Book Festival, Aye Write! Festival and MeadowsFest. In 2009 Claire won the Scottish Poetry Library’s Sotto Voce Slam and was invited to the 2009/10 Scottish Poetry Slam Championships. In early 2010 she also placed 3rd in the inaugural Is This Poetry? slam.
Claire’s first pamphlet of poems is forthcoming from Red Squirrel Press, and she is currently working on a poetry commission for a major UK retail outlet. She is available for readings and loves to attend poetry events — just drop a line to claire@onenightstanzas.com!
Claire is also the Editor in Chief of Read This Magazine, a friendly and approachable non-profit zine for new, young and upcoming writers, founded in 2007. In 2009, Read This Magazine branched out and Read This Press — a micropress producing handmade poetry pamphlets and anthologies — was born. Read This Press, Read This Magazine and One Night Stanzas are partly funded by Claire’s literary jewellery line, Read This Press Jewellery.
Claire is currently co-ordinating the poetry side of this collection, a collaborative project that aims to bring Edinburgh-based poets and filmmakers together to create short films inspired by life in the Athens of the North. this collection is always seeking filmmakers to join the project, so check out the this collection blog.
Please feel free to get in touch — just drop a line to claire@onenightstanzas.com!
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