Rachel McCarthy
Encyclopedia
Rachel McCarthy is a British poet, essayist, interviewer and broadcaster who lives in London
and Exeter
with her partner, the British portrait painter Piran Bishop
. She holds first class honours in Physics
and Chemistry
from Durham University
. Her most recent poetic work, published by "Shearsman" and broadcast on BBC Radio 4
uses scientific nomenclature, and its history, as a starting point.
Her reviews and articles, most notably on the changing role of the British Poet Laureate
, have appeared in the UK with Panmacmillan, Poetry News and the literary industry journal The Bookseller.
She co-hosts a monthly arts review show on Phonic FM
, hailed in a 2009 Sunday Times article as "providing some of the most inspiring broadcasting in the country". On air, and as a guest at the Exeter Poetry Festival in 2010 she has interviewed a number of notable names in the poetry world including Phil Bowen
, Harry Guest
, Ruth Padel
and Alice Oswald
.
In 2009 she founded the Poetry Society
Stanza "ExCite Poetry", which hosts guest poetry readings, workshops and open mic nights in Devon. Within six months "ExCite Poetry" became the largest regional arm of the Poetry Society
by a significant margin, with well over 100 members. In Summer 2011 "ExCite Poetry" was the focus of the first in a four part series on BBC Radio 4
about poetry around the country, and the value of a collective critique in the process of editing poetic works.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
with her partner, the British portrait painter Piran Bishop
Piran Bishop
Piran Bishop is a British portraitist.-Early career:Bishop is based in Exeter, and studied at Art Colleges in Exeter and Brighton. He was sketched by Robert Lenkiewicz as a child, and became a "casual student" of his from 1994 until Lenkiewicz's death in 2002...
. She holds first class honours in Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
from Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
. Her most recent poetic work, published by "Shearsman" and broadcast on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
uses scientific nomenclature, and its history, as a starting point.
Her reviews and articles, most notably on the changing role of the British Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
, have appeared in the UK with Panmacmillan, Poetry News and the literary industry journal The Bookseller.
She co-hosts a monthly arts review show on Phonic FM
Phonic FM
Phonic FM is a community radio station in Exeter, Devon, England. The station was set up in 2008 and started broadcasting on 15th Feb 2008. Phonic FM was originally call Vibraphonic FM and broadcast as part of a 1 month Music Festival in the City of Exeter called The Vibraphonic Music...
, hailed in a 2009 Sunday Times article as "providing some of the most inspiring broadcasting in the country". On air, and as a guest at the Exeter Poetry Festival in 2010 she has interviewed a number of notable names in the poetry world including Phil Bowen
Phil Bowen
Philip Hugh Bowen is a British poet, playwright, performer, teacher and biographer. He grew up in Liverpool where he taught from 1972–1979. During the eighties he was a publican before becoming a full time writer in 1992...
, Harry Guest
Harry Guest
Harry Guest is a British poet born in Wales. He was educated at Malvern College and read Modern Languages at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge. He wrote a thesis on Mallarmé at the Sorbonne...
, Ruth Padel
Ruth Padel
Ruth Sophia Padel is a British poet, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Zoological Society of London. She also writes non-fiction and more recently fiction, broadcasts on wildlife, poetry and literature for BBC Radio 3 and 4, and is Writer in Residence at The Environment Institute,...
and Alice Oswald
Alice Oswald
-Career:Oswald read Classics at New College, Oxford, has worked as a gardener at Chelsea Physic Garden, and today lives with her husband, the playwright Peter Oswald , and her three children in Devon, in the South-West of England....
.
In 2009 she founded the Poetry Society
Poetry Society
The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry".The Society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society in 1912...
Stanza "ExCite Poetry", which hosts guest poetry readings, workshops and open mic nights in Devon. Within six months "ExCite Poetry" became the largest regional arm of the Poetry Society
Poetry Society
The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry".The Society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society in 1912...
by a significant margin, with well over 100 members. In Summer 2011 "ExCite Poetry" was the focus of the first in a four part series on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
about poetry around the country, and the value of a collective critique in the process of editing poetic works.
Poems
- 'Mendeleev's Horse' broadcast on BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
31/07/2011
- 'Two followers of Cadmus devoured by a dragon' (Shearsman magazine issue 83/84, April 2010)
- 'Conjunctions' Shearsman magazine issue 83/84, April 2010)
- 'Gauss's law for magnetism' Shearsman magazine issue 83/84, April 2010)
- 'Lessons in stargazing: an epilogue' Shearsman magazine issue 83/84, April 2010)
Articles and Essays
- On Gender and Poetry (Panmacmillan, Feb 2009)
- Andrew Motion: Leaving the Laureateship (Panmacmillan, April 2009)
- Great Expectations for Duffy (TheBookseller, May 2009)
- "Midas Touch: What Carol Ann Duffy's appointment means for the laureateship" (Poetry News Summer 2009)
- Weeding Out Success: The Inaugural Ted Hughes Award" (The Bookseller, March 2010)