ABOUT CAROLINE
Caroline Bird was born in 1986 and grew up in Leeds before moving to London in 2001, and is currently studying English Literature at Oxford University.
In 2009 Caroline was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, and was the youngest writer on the list at 22. She has also won an Eric Gregory Award (2002) and the Foyle Young Poet of the Year award two years running (1999, 2000), and was a winner of the Poetry London Competition in 2007, the Peterloo Poetry Competition in 2004, 2003 and 2002.
Caroline has had three collections of poetry published by Carcanet. Her first collection Looking Through Letterboxes (published in 2002 when she was only 15) is a topical, zesty and formally delightful collection of poems built on the traditions of fairy tale, fantasy and romance. Her second collection, Trouble Came to the Turnip, was published in September 2006 to critical acclaim. Watering Can, her third collection published in November 2009 celebrates life as an early twenty-something. The extraordinary verve and compassion of her verse propels us into the anxiety of new responsibilities. Raw but never hopeless, Watering Can has comedy, wordplay and bright self-deprecation.
Caroline’s poems have been published in several anthologies, including Oxford Poetry 2008, and are published regularly in PN Review, Poetry Review, The North magazine. Several of her poems and a commissioned short story, Sucking Eggs, have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 3.
In recent years, Caroline has given poetry readings at Latitude Festival, the Manchester Literature Festival, the Wellcome Collection (with Don Paterson), the Royal Festival Hall (with Elaine Feinstein), St Hilda’s College (with Wendy Cope), the Wordsworth Trust (with Gillian Allnutt), Cheltenham Festival (with Clare Pollard) and Ledbury Festival, amongst others.
A member of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme, Caroline has also written several plays: Nothing to Say (shortlisted for the National Student Drama Festival 2005), The Pie, Lumberjills, A Hymn With Drums, Student Play and A Special Boy, to be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2009.
Caroline is also an enthusiastic leader of poetry workshops. In addition to working in primary and secondary schools, she has recently hosted two week-long student poetry courses at the Arvon Foundation (December 08/March 09).
For more information, please download Caroline’s CV