This September we’re delighted to host two events at the historic St Clement Danes Church to celebrate the end of the ground-breaking Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowships programme. The first brings together the three current Fellows in conversation with their mentors; the second will see all three rounds of the Fellowship represented in a very special one-off group reading. Both events are free to attend in person and will be livestreamed via the Jerwood Arts and Poetry School websites.
The Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowships programme has supported nine exceptional poets across three editions since 2017. Designed and managed by Jerwood Arts, with support from Arts Council England including funds from the Joseph Compton bequest, the programme offered a grant of £15k each and mentoring, with no expectations of work being produced. The nine prize-winning poets were selected for their significant contribution to the community of poetry.
The current Jerwood Fellows are Romalyn Ante, Dzifa Benson and Jamie Hale.
Edition 1 and 2 supported: Raymond Antrobus, Jane Commane, Jackie Hagan, Hafsah Aneela Bashir, Yomi Ṣode and Anthony Joseph.
Read more about the Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowships here.
The Gift of Mentoring: How to Nurture a Poet. 6.30pm, 27 September 2022.
Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellows Romalyn Ante, Dzifa Benson and Jamie Hale with Mentors Pascale Petit, Fiona Benson and Leo Boix.
A key aspect of the Jerwood Compton Fellowship is the mentoring the poets receive. This is one of the most important and successful methods of supporting poets (and other artists). This event will unlock the magic of what actually takes place during the mentoring process. The three current Fellows will give readings of their poetry, including new work produced during the Fellowship itself. They will be joined by their mentors, who include some of the most senior and well-respected poets in the UK: Pascale Petit, Leo Boix and Fiona Benson.
Book your free tickets here.
A Celebration of the Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowships. 6.30pm, 30th September 2022.
Readings from Hafsah Aneela Bashir, Romalyn Ante, Dzifa Benson, Jane Commane, Anthony Joseph and Yomi Ṣode
This event will see an extraordinary range of poets reading their work. The poets represent all three rounds of the Jerwood Compton Fellowship. They demonstrate the wonderful diversity of poets supported by the Fellowship. These poets have gone on to national and international success as a result of this support. As a celebration of the six-year programme, the Fellows, past and current, will be reading new work and speaking about what the Fellowships meant to them.
