Kathleen Jamie
Encyclopedia
Kathleen Jamie FRSL is a Scottish
poet
, raised in Currie, Edinburgh
. She gained an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh
.
Regarded as one of the most gifted contemporary poets in the UK
, she won the Forward Poetry Prize
for poetry in 2004 for The Tree House. Other books of poetry include The Queen of Sheba, (1994), The Way We Live (1987), Jizzen (1999), A Flame In Your Heart (with Andrew Greig), and The Autonomous Region (with photographer Sean Mayne Smith). In 2001 she was given a Creative Scotland Award. Other prizes include the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Award, and in 2005 the Scottish Book of the Year Award. She also writes for radio, and in 2005 she published, to great critical acclaim, a collection of non-fiction writings, Findings.
She has held several writer-in-residence posts, including one at the University of Dundee
from 1991 to 1993. She has contributed to and co-edited a number of anthologies, and was a part-time Reader in Creative Writing in the School of English at the University of St. Andrews. She was a judge for the 2010 Griffin Poetry Prize
. She lives in Fife
.
She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
in 2009. She is currently the University of Stirling's first appointed Professor of Creative Writing.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, raised in Currie, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. She gained an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
.
Regarded as one of the most gifted contemporary poets in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, she won the Forward Poetry Prize
Forward Poetry Prize
The Forward Poetry Prizes were created in 1991. The aim of the prizes is to extend the audience for contemporary poetry. Until the T.S. Eliot Prize remuneration was increased to £15,000 plus £1000 to each of nine runners-up, the Forward was the United Kingdom's most valuable annual poetry...
for poetry in 2004 for The Tree House. Other books of poetry include The Queen of Sheba, (1994), The Way We Live (1987), Jizzen (1999), A Flame In Your Heart (with Andrew Greig), and The Autonomous Region (with photographer Sean Mayne Smith). In 2001 she was given a Creative Scotland Award. Other prizes include the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Award, and in 2005 the Scottish Book of the Year Award. She also writes for radio, and in 2005 she published, to great critical acclaim, a collection of non-fiction writings, Findings.
She has held several writer-in-residence posts, including one at the University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
from 1991 to 1993. She has contributed to and co-edited a number of anthologies, and was a part-time Reader in Creative Writing in the School of English at the University of St. Andrews. She was a judge for the 2010 Griffin Poetry Prize
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. The awards go to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language....
. She lives in Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
.
She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
in 2009. She is currently the University of Stirling's first appointed Professor of Creative Writing.
Awards
- 1981 Eric Gregory AwardEric Gregory AwardThe Eric Gregory Award is given by the Society of Authors to British poets under 30 on submission. The awards are up to a sum value of £24000 annually....
- 1982 Scottish Arts CouncilScottish Arts CouncilThe Scottish Arts Council is a Scottish public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Government, and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland...
Book Award for Black Spiders - 1988 Scottish Arts CouncilScottish Arts CouncilThe Scottish Arts Council is a Scottish public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Government, and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland...
Book Award for The Way We Live - 1995 Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys PrizeJohn Llewellyn Rhys PrizeThe John Llewellyn Rhys Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdom...
(shortlist) for The Queen of Sheba - 1995 Somerset Maugham AwardSomerset Maugham AwardThe Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. It is awarded to whom they judge to be the best writer or writers under the age of thirty-five of a book published in the past year. The prize was instituted in 1947 by William Somerset Maugham and thus...
for The Queen of Sheba - 1995 T. S. Eliot PrizeT. S. Eliot PrizeThe T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is awarded by the Poetry Book Society to "the best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland" in any particular year. The Prize was inaugurated in 1993 in celebration of the Poetry Book Society's 40th birthday and in...
(shortlist) for The Queen of Sheba - 1996 Forward Poetry PrizeForward Poetry PrizeThe Forward Poetry Prizes were created in 1991. The aim of the prizes is to extend the audience for contemporary poetry. Until the T.S. Eliot Prize remuneration was increased to £15,000 plus £1000 to each of nine runners-up, the Forward was the United Kingdom's most valuable annual poetry...
(Best Single Poem) for (The Graduates) - 1996 Geoffrey Faber Memorial PrizeGeoffrey Faber Memorial PrizeThe Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize is a British literary prize established in 1963 in tribute to Geoffrey Faber, founder and first Chairman publisher Faber & Faber...
for The Queen of Sheba - 1999 T. S. Eliot PrizeT. S. Eliot PrizeThe T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is awarded by the Poetry Book Society to "the best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland" in any particular year. The Prize was inaugurated in 1993 in celebration of the Poetry Book Society's 40th birthday and in...
(shortlist) for Jizzen - 2000 Forward Poetry PrizeForward Poetry PrizeThe Forward Poetry Prizes were created in 1991. The aim of the prizes is to extend the audience for contemporary poetry. Until the T.S. Eliot Prize remuneration was increased to £15,000 plus £1000 to each of nine runners-up, the Forward was the United Kingdom's most valuable annual poetry...
(Best Poetry Collection of the Year) (shortlist) for Jizzen - 2000 Geoffrey Faber Memorial PrizeGeoffrey Faber Memorial PrizeThe Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize is a British literary prize established in 1963 in tribute to Geoffrey Faber, founder and first Chairman publisher Faber & Faber...
for Jizzen - 2001 Scottish Arts CouncilScottish Arts CouncilThe Scottish Arts Council is a Scottish public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Government, and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland...
Creative Scotland Award - 2003 Griffin Poetry PrizeGriffin Poetry PrizeThe Griffin Poetry Prize is Canada's most generous poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. The awards go to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language....
(Canada) (shortlist) for Mr. and Mrs. Scotland are Dead: Poems 1980-1994 - 2004 Forward Poetry PrizeForward Poetry PrizeThe Forward Poetry Prizes were created in 1991. The aim of the prizes is to extend the audience for contemporary poetry. Until the T.S. Eliot Prize remuneration was increased to £15,000 plus £1000 to each of nine runners-up, the Forward was the United Kingdom's most valuable annual poetry...
(Best Poetry Collection of the Year) for The Tree House - 2004 T. S. Eliot PrizeT. S. Eliot PrizeThe T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is awarded by the Poetry Book Society to "the best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland" in any particular year. The Prize was inaugurated in 1993 in celebration of the Poetry Book Society's 40th birthday and in...
(shortlist) for The Tree House - 2005 Scottish Arts CouncilScottish Arts CouncilThe Scottish Arts Council is a Scottish public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Government, and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland...
Book of the Year Award for The Tree House - 2006 Ondaatje PrizeOndaatje PrizeThe Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is an annual literary award given by the Royal Society of Literature. The £10,000 award is given for a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry which evokes the "spirit of a place", and which is written by someone who is a citizen of or who has been...
(shortlist) for Findings - 2006 Scottish Arts CouncilScottish Arts CouncilThe Scottish Arts Council is a Scottish public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Government, and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland...
Book of the Year Award (shortlist) for Findings