People
Poetry@Leeds reflects the diversity of poetry research and practice, counting among its members poets, critics, and translators, as well as language, digital and archival specialists.
The University's Cultural Collections continues to add to their holdings to reflect the breadth of poetry in English, with a particular focus on poets associated with the University and surrounding area.
Learn more about recent Poetry@Leeds member activities in the RESEARCHER newsletter.
Current Members
Kimberly Campanello, Director of Poetry@Leeds & Professor of Poetry
Matt Howard, Manager of Poetry@Leeds & Douglas Caster Cultural Fellow (2021-23)
Simon Armitage, Professor of Poetry & UK Poet Laureate
John Whale, previous Director & Professor of Romantic Literature
Mike Baynham, Emeritus Professor of TESOL, School of Education
Fiona Becket, Professor of Contemporary Poetics
Chad Campbell, Co-lead of Creative Writing at LLC
JR Carpenter, Lecturer in Performance Writing
Emma Cayley, Professor of Medieval French & Head of the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies
Charlotte Eichler, Project Editor, International Medieval Bibliography
Ian Fairley, Teaching Fellow & Translator
David Higgins, Professor of Environmental Humanities & Director of Impact for the School of English
Hazel Hutchison, Professor of English Literature & Head of the School of English
Rhian Isaac, Head of Cultural Collections Research Development
Zaffar Kunial, Lecturer in Creative Writing & Douglas Caster Cultural Fellow (2019-21)
Sofia Martinho, Associate Professor/ Director of the Camões Centre for Portuguese Language at Leeds
Sarah K. Perry, Lecturer in Creative Writing & Programme Leader for the BA English Literature with Creative Writing
Sarah Prescott, Literary Archivist in Brotherton Cultural Collections
Jess Richards, Lecturer in Creative Writing & Programme Leader for the MA Creative Writing
John Stell, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science
Caitlin Stobie, Lecturer in Creative Writing & School of English Practice Research Lead
Rowland Thompson, Media Relations & Production Officer, Cultural Collections & Galleries
Jonathan Pitches, Head of School, Professor of Theatre and Performance
Nick Thurston, Associate Professor of Contemporary Art and Literature
Matthew Treherne, Professor of Italian Literature & Faculty Pro-Dean for Research & Innovation, Dante@Leeds
Emma Trott, Lecturer in Contemporary Literature
Cheney Fellows
Bai Hua
Tammy Ho Lai-ming
Shara McCallum
Postgraduate researchers:
Ash Burnel
Kay Child
Maia Elsner
Jon Gilbert, intern for Poetry@ Leeds & Brotherton Cultural Collections, 2021-2023
Gracie Marsh
Safiya Kamara Kinshasa
Blaise Sales
Kate Simpson
Michael Sutton
Melissa Wan
Austin Woerner
Legacy
Poetry@Leeds continues the University’s historic commitment to poetry. Beginning in the early 1990s, the School of English employed a number of Creative Writing Fellows, including the poets Sarah Maguire, Ian Duhig, Simon Armitage, Sean O’Brien, John Hartley Williams, Peter Sansom, Amanda Dalton, Kitty Fitzgerald, Anthony Vahni Capildeo, Paul Maddern, Linda France, Evan Jones, and Malika Booker.
The University’s alumni include poets Jon Silkin, Tony Harrison, James Simmons, Ian Duhig, Sean O’Brien, Jeffrey Wainwright, Jon Glover, Linda France, Sarah Corbett, Ken Smith, Philip Terry, Vernon Scannell, and Hannah Copley. Simon Armitage was appointed as the University's first Professor of Poetry in 2017.
The Leeds Poetry Project (AHRC, 2005) examines the archives and holdings devoted to the history of poetry publishing at Leeds, the poets who studied and worked at the University and those connected with the city and the surrounding area between 1950 and 1980.