Halsway Manor is pleased to announce the appointment of not one, but two poets in residence, as part of our Heritage Lottery Fund activities. Over the next year poets Rebecca Perry and Amy Key will be in residence at Halsway, absorbing the world of the manor, researching in the library, exploring the surrounding area and creating a new collaborative body of work inspired by their time here, to be published in pamphlet form. There will be a chance during their residency for members of public to engage with their work through a talk or workshop.
Rebecca Perry is the author of a number of publications including 2015’s Beauty/Beauty, published by Bloodaxe books, which was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation, shortlisted for the T S Eliot Prize, the Seamus Heaney Prize for Best First Collection, The Fenton Aldeburgh Prize for Best First Collection and winner of the Michael Murphy Memorial Prize.
Amy Key is the author of the soon to be published Isn’t Forever, Bloodaxe books and Luxe, Salt Publishing, 2013, as well as two pamphlets. Isn’t Forever is a Poetry Book Society Wild Card Choice. She founded the wonderful, now archived journal, Poems in Which, which Rebecca later also edited.
Both poets have published extensively in magazines and anthologies, run workshops and worked as editors, supporting new up and coming poets as well as developing their own work.
Creative Lead Alice Maddicott says:
“I was really impressed with Rebecca and Amy’s joint application. We had over 60 applications for the residency, but their proposal really shone. Whilst their poetry is wonderful, they also thought beyond their individual work to devise a collaborative approach to the residency inspired by folk arts as a metaphor for the process of writing as well as the inspiration for new work. Their proposal was exciting, thoughtful and creatively strong. I am confident that the work they produce will create a brilliant creative legacy and show a new and unexpected side to the manor, the library and the wider heritage of Halsway.”
