From next week I will be joining Poetry By Heart as their new Poetry and Digital Content Editor.

Poetry By Heart is England’s national poetry speaking competition, funded by the Department of Education. I’ve been working with PBH on-and-off since 2020 when I met Julie, one of the Co-Directors, while she was finishing up her DPhil at Homerton College where I was Poet-in-Residence.

I will be working on the timeline anthologies and overseeing a number of PBH publications – I can’t wait to get cracking!

I had an absolutely brilliant time on Monday 1st July 2024 working as part of the crew for this year’s Poetry by Heart Grand Finale.

Poetry by Heart is England’s national poetry recitation competition for young people. For the finale, 100 young finalists, aged from 7 to 18, traveled to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre from across the country to perform poems they chose to learn by heart and to compete for the title of Poetry By Heart National Champion.

I’d attended the finale in previous years as an audience member but this was my first time working as crew. My role was to prep performers, leading them through some warm up exercises and explaining what would happen on stage. Then, it was time to head upstairs to the ‘tiring house’ and then the backstage area where the young people waited their turn. I then got to go on stage and act as their prompter if needed.

It was an incredible thing to be onstage at the globe but what really blew me away was watching these young people, who were often very nervous in the lead-up, step onto the stage and shine.

There were so many supportive people around them: parents, teachers, friends etc., reassuring them and it was clear that so much time and effort had gone into getting them to the finale. But on stage, it was all on them. And every time it was like watching an airplane take off as they stepped forward and started to soar. Over and over again, these amazing young people began to fill this world-famous theatre with their voice and presence. It was completely remarkable to see and I was absolutely in tears by the time the winners were announced. I was so happy for everything these young people achieved.

Had a blast last night teaching 3 poetry classes for members of The British Museum.

We had great fun in this stunning ‘classroom’ and I even got to head up to the Michelangelo exhibition on my break.

Last Sunday I went back to Homerton College for the world premiere of Searching for my father, a song cycle written by Rhodri Williams-Wandoch.

The cycle is based on a sequence of five poems from my current work in progress.

It was so wonderful to have Rhodri pay such close and sustained attention to my work. And the resulting pieces for soprano and piano were so wonderful.

My poem ‘Hunger’ has been shortlisted for the TASTE poetry prize run by Oxford Poetry Library.

I’ll be reading my poem at the winner’s announcement even on May 10th at The Community Works, Oxford at 7pm.

I have a veritable bouquet of poetry class coming up this spring and early summer. You can join me for close reading sessions on Irish poets, Mary Oliver and many other beloved writers at Literature Cambridge. I’m also teaching a whole-day workshop for City Lit and a members-only session at The British Museum. Click below for more information:

Close Reading: Paul Muldoon and Eavan Boland Sunday April 28 and May 5, 2-4pm UK time (online)

Continuing our close reading series: join Dr Mariah Whelan for two sessions exploring the poetry of Irish poets Paul Muldoon and Eavan Boland.

In these two-hour sessions, we will use close reading techniques to read, analyse and discuss a selection of poems by these two brilliant writers. This is the perfect course for anyone wanting to enhance their skills of analysis and discussion in a warm and collegiate atmosphere. No prior experience of close reading is necessary to take part.

Close Reading: Yeats, MacNeice, Longley, Heaney, McGuckian Sunday 23 and 30 June, 2-4pm UK time (online)

A repeat of last year’s sold out course, in these two two-hour sessions, we will use close reading techniques to study a selection of poems from five excellent Irish writers. Together we will observe, analyse and discuss them as individual pieces and we will also explore how they might be read as being ‘in dialogue’ with each other.

This is the perfect course for anyone wanting to enhance their skills of analysis and discussion in a warm and collegiate atmosphere. No prior experience of close reading is necessary to take part.

Writing poetry: experiments in chance and choice Saturday July 13, 10am-5pm UK time (online)

Explore interesting, off-beat and diverse approaches to generating verse on this one-day course. Try out cut-ups, found lines, experiments in meter and rhyme, and much more.

My ‘Ways into Poetry’ class for City Lit is currently sold out. However, I still have places left on my Literature Cambridge courses.

My Sylvia Plath course starts on Saturday February 10th and runs for 4 weeks.

There are also still places on my close reading seminars on Irish poets taking place in April/May and June.

Another Highly Commended award (always the bridesmaid, lol!), this time for my poem ‘Brother’. You can read it over on the ‘Mist and Mountain’ website here: https://mistandmountain.co.uk/commendations-poems/?fbclid=IwAR1aLOj7b3COrgcFezGrJz5kb2Wj56sACwRLKp2QVYQOq3TwIGpgYq4mn1I

Many thanks to the organisers for their kind consideration!

If you want to join me for some poetry-related classes, I’ll be teaching the following sessions over the coming months:

Close Reading: Irish Poets (5th & 12th November, 2-4pm)

In these two two-hour sessions, we will use close reading techniques to study a selection of poems from five excellent Irish writers. Together we will observe, analyse and discuss them as individual pieces and we will also explore how they might be read as being ‘in dialogue’ with each other.

This is the perfect course for anyone wanting to enhance their skills of analysis and discussion in a warm and collegiate atmosphere. No prior experience of close reading is necessary to take part.

https://www.literaturecambridge.co.uk/reading-irish-poets-1

Ways into Poetry (11 Jan-21 March 2024, 6-8pm)

Relatively new to writing poetry? This inspiring course offers an opportunity to experiment with language and a variety of poetic devices alongside fellow emerging poets. Discover the key elements of a poem in a friendly and interactive class.

https://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/ways-into-poetry

Sylvia Plath: Poetry & Prose (10 Feb-2 March 2024)

Join writer and lecturer Dr Mariah Whelan for a live online exploration of the life and writing of Sylvia Plath. In each of the 2-hour sessions, we will begin with a 1-hour lecture where you will be introduced to key aspects of Plath’s poetry and prose writings.

Four x 2-hour sessions, weekly on Saturdays, from 10 February to 2 March 2024, 2.00 to 4.00 pm British time. Live online via Zoom.

This is a 4-week course, with a live online lecture and seminar each week. The lectures are recorded so that participants can listen again during the course if they wish. The seminars are not recorded.

https://www.literaturecambridge.co.uk/plath-2024