Liz Berry

Liz Berry (born 1980) is a British poet. She has published two pamphlets and one full-length poetry collection. Her poetry collection, Black Country, was named poetry book of the year by several publications, including The Guardian.

Liz Berry
Born1980 (age 39–40)
West Midlands, England
OccupationPoet
ResidenceBirmingham
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
EducationRoyal Holloway, University of London
Notable worksThe Republic of Motherhood, Black Country
Notable awardsForward Prize
Somerset Maugham Award
Eric Gregory Award

Early life and education

Born in 1980, Berry was raised in the Black Country of England. She trained as a school teacher and initially taught in a primary school. She became interested in poetry after taking a beginners' poetry class at a local college. She later attended the Royal Holloway, University of London, where she earned an MA in Creative Writing.[1]

Poetry career

Berry was a recipient of the Eric Gregory Award in 2009. The award is given by the Society of Authors to British poets under the age of 30.[2] Berry's first pamphlet, The Patron Saint of School Girls, was published by tall-lighthouse in 2010.[2] She won the Poetry London competition in 2012 for the poem Bird.[3]

In 2014, Chatto and Windus published Black Country, Berry's first poetry collection. Black Country won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, and the Somerset Maugham Award.[4] Black Country was selected as poetry book of the year by several publications, including The Guardian.[5][6]

Berry's writing is rooted in the landscape and dialect of the West Midlands. In 2014, Ben Wilkinson in The Guardian summarized Black Country: "It digs deep into the poet’s West Midlands roots, enlivening and reimagining the heritage of that eponymous heartland of iron foundries, coal mines and steel mills, on both personal and public footings".[7]

The Republic of Motherhood, Berry's second pamphlet, was published by Chatto and Windus in 2018. The title poem won the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem.[8]

Currently living in Birmingham, Berry works for the Arvon Foundation and other organizations as a poetry tutor.[1]

Works
  • (2010)—The Patron Saint of Girls, tall-lighthouse, ISBN 9781904551829
  • (2014)—Black Country, Chatto and Windus, ISBN 9780701188573
  • (2018)—The Republic of Motherhood, Vintage Digital, ASIN B07CN8RDS1

Awards
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References
  1. Anderson, Natalya. "The Poetry Extension's Poet of the Month". Poetry Extension. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  2. "Liz Berry b. 1980". Poetry Archive. Retrieved 8 September 2018..
  3. "Autumn 2012: Issue 73". Poetry London. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  4. "Liz Berry". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  5. "Liz Berry". British Council. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  6. "The Republic of Motherhood". Forward Arts Foundation. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  7. Wilkinson, Ben (21 November 2014). "Black Country by Liz Berry poetry review – 'love flowed out of me like honey'". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  8. "Republic of Motherhood". Forward Arts Foundation. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  9. Saunders, Tristam Fane (8 September 2018). "The year's best poems: The Republic of Motherhood by Liz Berry". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  10. "The Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize 2014". Faber & Faber. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
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