Come to readings by two exceptional poets with considerable public appeal,
supported by some of the finest student poets from NTU’s Creative Writing
programmes.

Clare Pollard  has published five collections with Bloodaxe, including Changeling, a Poetry Book Society Recommendation, and Lives of the Female Poets. Her translation Ovid’s Heroines was also published by Bloodaxe.  Her documentary for radio, My Male Muse, was a Radio 4 Pick of the Year. She is also the author of the non-fiction book Fierce Bad Rabbits: The Tales Behind our Picture Books, and the novels for adults Delphi and The Modern Fairies.

Her book for children, The Untameables, illustrated by Reena Makwana, was published in 2024. The Othernauts, a new telling of the myth of Jason and the Argonauts for younger readers illustrated by Macha Yao, is due from Piccadilly Press in 2026. Clare is a former editor of Modern Poetry in Translation and is Artistic Director of the Winchester Poetry Festival.

Ian Parks, from Mexborough, South Yorkshire, was commended by Donald Davie for his ‘instantly recognisable voice: spare, lyrical, memorable, and intense.’ His most recent collection, The Sons of Darkness and the Sons of Light, was published by Crooked Spire Press and his Selected Poems 1983-2023 was published by Calder Valley Poetry. He is the editor of Versions of the North: Contemporary Yorkshire Poetry (published by Five Leaves) and the Selected Poems of Harold Massingham. His translations of the modern Greek poet Constantine Cavafy were a Poetry Book Society Choice. His poems have appeared in Poetry Review, The Times Literary Supplement and the Morning Star among many other places. He has held residencies at Gladstone’s Library and at De Montfort University, Leicester.

This event is funded by NTU’s Nottingham Creative Writing Hub and is free to students and staff of Nottingham Trent

Refreshments included