Carcanet online book launch: Rookie by Caroline Bird

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

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Rookie: Selected Poems by Caroline Bird

13 July 2022

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Poet Caroline Bird
Poet Caroline Bird
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We’re excited for the launch of Rookie: Selected Poems by Forward Prize-winning poet Caroline Bird, when she will be reading from the new collection, out with Manchester-based Carcanet Press, and chatting about it with fellow poet Rachel Long, author of Forward Prize-shortlisted My Darling From The Lions.

Caroline Bird’s most recent collection, The Air Year, was awarded the prestigious Forward Prize for Best Collection in 2020. It was also shortlisted for the Polari Book Prize and the Costa Poetry Prize, and it was a “book of the…” in the Telegraph, Guardian and The White Review.

Starting with Looking Through Letterboxes in 2002 when she was just 15 years old (followed up with Trouble Came to the Turnip, 2006, then Watering Can, 2009), Caroline Bird has published six books with Carcanet, and is one of the publishing house’s most popular poets. Her fourth collection, The Hat-Stand Union, was described by Simon Armitage as “spring-loaded, funny, sad and deadly”.

Caroline Bird’s most recent collection, The Air Year, was awarded the prestigious Forward Prize for Best Collection in 2020. It was also shortlisted for the Polari Book Prize and the Costa Poetry Prize, and it was a “book of the…” in the Telegraph, Guardian and The White Review. She was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize 2017 and the Ted Hughes Award 2017 for her fifth collection, In These Days Of Prohibition (published July 2017), and she has previously been shortlisted the Dylan Thomas Prize – twice, in 2008 and 2010.

Rookie: Selected Poems came out earlier this year and presents a formidable body of work composed over two decades from one of the poetry world’s most energetic and consistently compelling voices. Carcanet say: “Her startling instinct for metaphor, the courage of her choice of subjects and the integrity of her witness, set her apart: a poem is a risk, and it has to be a risk worth taking for the poet and for the reader.”

Caroline Bird’s poems have been published in several anthologies and journals including Poetry Magazine, PN ReviewPoetry Review and 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. She was one of the five official poets at London Olympics 2012. Her poem ‘The Fun Palace’, which celebrates the life and work of theatre director Joan Littlewood (Caroline hails from a theatrical background and also writes plays), is now erected on the Olympic Site outside the main stadium.

As always with Carcanet Press events, extracts of the text will be shown during the reading so that you can read along, and audience members will have the opportunity to ask their own questions. Registration for this online event is £2, redeemable against the cost of the book – attendees will receive a discount code and details of how to get hold of the new book during and after the event.

Rookie: Selected Poems by Caroline Bird
Rookie: Selected Poems by Caroline Bird

Where to go near Carcanet online book launch: Rookie by Caroline Bird

Hern Food
Leeds
Restaurant
Hern

This produce-driven bistro in Chapel Allerton, Leeds, prides itself on cooking with the only finest ingredients and his headed up by Cordon Bleu-trained chef Rab Adams.

Indie Makers
Leeds
Shop
Indie Makers

Indie Makers, located in Leads’ corn exchange, trades in art and gifts from independent makers across the UK.

Plant Point
Leeds
Shop
Plant Point

Plant Point is designed to help you bring the jungle into your urban or suburban space. The home of beautiful plants in Leeds.

Leeds
Restaurant
Eat Your Greens

Eat Your Greens is a vibrant, organic restaurant bringing a hint of European flair to the city’s plant-based dining scene.

Sela opened in 2004 with an idea to provide quality imported beers from around the world, fun cocktails to compliment the beer selections and a stage for the region’s finest and most talented musicians to play on.Over ten years later, we’re still all about the beer, cocktails, live music and pizza!We carry over a selection of over thirty different beers spanning the globe from Pickering with The Great Yorkshire Brewery’s Yorkshire Blackout, to New York with a selection from Brooklyn Brewery, and Belgium with longtime Sela favourite, Vedett.Our cocktails change regularly too. Our best-sellers are joined by fun, new offerings and our pizza menu is regarded as one of the best the city of Leeds has to offer.As for the live music, Sela has had not only the great and the good from the region. Local funksters, The New Mastersounds are regular visitors and we stage the amazing Mojah Reggae Band for their weekly Wednesday residency.  Our other long running programming incl
Leeds
Restaurant
Sela Bar & Pizzeria

Sela Bar is a cosy Leeds basement spot with live music, great drinks, and a cool, laid-back, atmospheric vibe.

Leeds Beckett SU
Leeds
Restaurant
Leeds Beckett Student Union

Leeds Beckett Student Union hosts big-name artists and supports students through events, live music, and a vibrant campus venue.

Located on Cardigan Fields Leisure Park, Vue Leeds Kirkstall is a nine screen cinema with almost 2000 seats. There's ample parking and the cinema is surrounded by various restaurants and entertainment facilities, making for a great evening out!

Watch the latest film releases and enjoy the industry-leading Sony 4K Digital screens, boasting spectacular picture quality, along with enhanced audio quality courtesy of Dolby 'Profound Sound'. Stepped SuperVue seating means you will never miss a second of the action while VIP seating guarantees you an extra touch of luxury whenever you want to upgrade.

Three of the nine screens showcase the newest 3D releases while Vue Classical brings the latest stage sensations to the big screen, and parents can save as they go with Family Tickets and Kids AM screenings offering great value for money.
Leeds
Cinema
Vue Cinema – Leeds Kirkstall Road

Located on Cardigan Fields Leisure Park, Vue Leeds Kirkstall is a nine screen cinema with almost 2000 seats. There’s ample parking and the cinema is surrounded by various restaurants and

Restaurant 2
Leeds
Café or Coffee Shop
Empire Café

Empire Café is located in Leeds’ ‘home of day dining’- Fish street!

Restaurant
Leeds
Restaurant
Phranakhon

Phranakhon Thai Tapas is a revolutionised Thai dining restaurant with a combination of European indulgence and authentic Thai tastes.

Restaurant
Leeds
Restaurant
Wen’s

Wen’s is a family owned Chinese restaurant specialising in authentic, home cooked cuisine.

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