Competition names English graduate as best new poet

A University of Wolverhampton English graduate picked up a poetic accolade recently and has secured a place in a new book of poetry.

Work by Samantha Roden, originally from Shard End in Birmingham but now living in Wolverhampton, is one of 50 poets chosen for inclusion in The Best New British and Irish Poets 2017 anthology, due for publication in March.

The competition was run by Eyeware Publishing LTD, a British indie press based in London which searches for emerging talent as well as well-established figures.  Poets of any age from across the UK who had not yet published a full-length collection of poems were eligible to compete. Poet, Dr Luke Kennard, considered all submissions anonymously.

Samantha was working as an Unqualified Teacher when she studied for a degree in English at the University of Wolverhampton and graduated with First Class Honours. She became a Lead Practitioner for English, training other teachers and specialising in literature, and was commissioned by Cambridge University Press as an author to write resources for a GCSE English resource package. 

She has recently co-authored a book of criticism based on American author Philip Roth with Dr Paul McDonald, Course Leader for Creative and Professional Writing at the University. Samantha and Paul have been asked to speak about their research at The International Philip Roth Society conference in Boston later this year.