I’m honoured – my essay ‘Don’t Fence Me In’ is included in this wonderful collection! (Nine Arches Press, ed Ian Humphreys)
‘What motivates poets in the 21st century? How do they find their voice? What themes and subject matters inspire them? How do they cope with set-backs and deal with success? What keeps them writing?
In Why I Write Poetry twenty-five contemporary poets reflect with insight, wit and wisdom on the writing life, each offering their distinctive take on what inspires and spurs them on to write poetry. Also - individual writing prompts to help you create your own new poetry.’
https://ninearchespress.com/publications/poetry-collections/why-i-write-poetry.html
Thank you Henry Normal for selecting What Girls Do in the Dark for Northern Soul’s Best Reads of 2021!
Books: Northern Soul’s Best Reads of 2021
Henry Normal, poet and writer
What Girls do in the Dark (Nine Arches Press) by Rosie Garland is my favourite poetry book of the year. Garland was a singer in the 1980s post-punk/goth band The March Violets. More recently, she’s established herself as a poet and novelist with several titles. I had the honour to read with her in Birmingham a while back, so when her new collection was released I was already interested. From the first poem I was captivated. She has a way of keeping one foot tentatively in the world we know with the other searching for a foothold in an unseen or imaginary world. I was inspired and transported by these poems in a way I’ve not experienced since first getting excited by the possibilities of poetry in my teens. I suspect it would not be good form to choose one of my poetry books for this feature but even if it was, I would choose Garland’s What Girls do in the Dark.
https://www.northernsoul.me.uk/books-northern-souls-best-reads-of-2021/
And such a stellar list, too!
The Polari Prize 2021 Longlists
Now in its tenth year, the Polari Prize is the UK’s first and largest LGBTQ+ book award. Established to promote writing that explores the LGBTQ+ experience, Polari also focuses on amplifying diverse voices through a series of literary events, including the regularly touring Polari Salon.
https://www.waterstones.com/category/cultural-highlights/book-awards/the-polari-prize
I thought it wasn't possible to feel any more thrilled about joining Nine Arches Press
- then I see the stunning cover of my new poetry collection, 'What Girls Do In The Dark'.
Out October 2020
https://www.ninearchespress.com/publications/poetry-collections/what-girls-do-in-the-dark.html
I’m thrilled to be on the 2020 list of Nine Arches Press!
I’m in the company of a fantastic group of poets. I couldn’t be happier.
https://www.ninearchespress.com/about-us/news.html
“Midlands-based independent poetry publisher Nine Arches Press, which achieved Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation status in 2018, will publish eleven new books of poetry in 2020, from a mix of established and emerging poets from across the UK and across the world…
Acclaimed novelist Rosie Garland will also join the 2020 list in October with her third full collection of poems What Girls Do in the Dark, a book alive with galactic, glimmering energy. Rosie’s award-winning short and long fiction, poems and essays have been widely anthologised and in 2019 she was selected by Val McDermid as one of the 10 most compelling LGBTQI+ writers working in the UK.”
Image: Poets confirmed for the Nine Arches Press 2020 list
Top: l-r: Jennifer Wong, Rishi Dastidar, Abegail Morley, Geraldine Clarkson, Nina Mingya Powles.
Bottom: l-r: Peter Kahn, Maria Taylor, Gregory Leadbetter, Rosie Garland, Kate Fox
Under the Radar, issue 21 (Summer 2018)
Includes my short story ‘Life on Earth’.
Under the Radar is a place for readers and writers alike to make new discoveries...
Our flagship magazine is at the heart of operations here at Nine Arches Press. It is a lively mix of the best up-and-coming and established poets and writers, as well as reviews and articles.
https://ninearchespress.com/magazine.html
Five Leaves Bookshop
Nottingham’s independent bookshop
Wednesday, 5th May
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm - free event
In this event Rosie will read from ‘What Girls Do in the Dark’ and talk to Megan Taylor about her life and writing. She will also answer questions from the audience.
Free. Book via Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/145051221107
https://fiveleavesbookshop.co.uk/events/rosie-garland/
14a Long Row, Nottingham NG1 2DH 0115 8373097
One of the few independents to open in any UK city centre this century! Find us opposite Nottingham Tourism centre. Specialising in: Cityscape and Landscape, Politics, Fiction and Poetry, Lesbian and Gay, Counterculture, International writing, Magazines and Journals.
Wednesday 18th November 2020, 20.00 GMT
Hosted by the ‘Blogging Goth’ Tim Synyster and academic Dr Claire Nally, Black Cat Radio is an hour-long broadcast of music, news and discussion on goth – as well as sibling genres like punk, metal, industrial and other alternative styles.
It’s hosted by the kind people at Star & Shadow Cinema, a DIY community collective project in the bijou enclave of Heaton, Newcastle. Every second Wednesday at 8PM GMT we transmit the show online. Each show is available to listen again so it also sidles into the ‘podcast’ category.
As well as going live, we have another first when we return on Wednesday 18th November. Dr Nally sat down for a (Zoom) chat with the exceptionally multi-talented Rosie Garland – author, performer, compere, the very first writer in residence of the gothic splendour that is the John Rylands Library, and of course singer with famed post-punk band The March Violets, amongst her very many skills.
She and Dr Nally talked about her new poetry collection What Girls Do In The Dark - Tune in on the 18th November for the next episode of Black Cat Radio to hear what they discussed!
What Girls Do In The Dark is out now via Nine Arches Press and can be purchased directly from them or ordered through your local booksellers if you wish to avoid a certain multinational online vendor on this occasion!
Ensure you’re listening every second Wednesday
https://starandshadow.org.uk/programme/event/black-cat-radio-fortnightly-goth-music-show,5160/
and join us in the chatroom to let us know just where on the gothosphere you’re tuning in from!
https://theblogginggoth.com/2020/11/11/black-cat-radio-interview-with-rosie-garland/
‘A very modern, secular kind of elegy reflects on death with a surprising lightness’ - Carol Rumens.
Read the full article here - https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2020/nov/16/poem-of-the-week-now-that-you-are-not-you-by-rosie-garland
Join Rosie Garland plus guest poets Tania Hershman and Ian Humphreys to celebrate the publication of Rosie's new collection What Girls Do in the Dark.
Thursday 12 November 7.30pm (GMT)
This event will be streamed live through the Nine Arches Press YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/user/NineArchesPress/videos
Those who register to 'attend' will receive an event link by email the day before the event.
What Girls Do in the Dark invites us to leap into deep space, to venture through strange night-time transformations, to discover not just outer-space, but inner space, where the body and the self are made of infinite galaxies. Rooted in the gothic imagination, mythology and the uncanny, these poems contain magnitudes and magic, feminist fables starstruck with science and astronomy.
Rosie is joined by writer Tania Hershman. How High Did She Fly was joint winner of Live Canon's 2019 Poetry Pamphlet Competition. Her hybrid particle-physics-inspired book and what if we were all allowed to disappear was published in March by Guillemot Press. Tania is also the author of Terms and Conditions (Nine Arches, 2017), a poetry chapbook and three short story collections, and co-author of Writing Short Stories: A Writers' & Artists' Companion (Bloomsbury, 2014). She is co-creator of @OnThisDayShe and curator of short story hub ShortStops.
Rosie is also joined by Ian Humphreys, a West Yorkshire based poet. His debut collection Zebra was published by Nine Arches Press in 2019. His work is widely published in journals including The Poetry Review, The Rialto and Magma. Awards include first prize in the Hamish Canham Prize, and highly commended in the Forward Prizes. Zebra was nominated for the Portico Prize. A fellow of The Complete Works, Ian’s poems are showcased in Ten: Poets of the New Generation (Bloodaxe).
More details about What Girls Do in the Dark including a link to buy can be found https://ninearchespress.com/publications/poetry-collections/what-girls-do-in-the-dark.html
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rosie-garlands-online-launch-of-what-girls-do-in-the-dark-tickets-126207854089?ref=estw
On 12th July 2023 I was made a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature! It was something I never imagined in a hundred years.
It's a tremendous honour, & a testament to the quality of my writing. To say I am thrilled is a huge misunderstatement.
https://rsliterature.org/fellows/rosie-garland/
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/12/royal-society-of-literature-aims-to-broaden-representation-as-it-announces-62-new-fellows
Delighted to get the opportunity to talk to Manchester Festival of Libraries about the importance of libraries in my life!
And there are many more –
Watch all the short films featuring four accomplished Manchester creative practitioners who have worked closely with libraries over the course of their careers.
Hear how libraries can support artists, writers, dancers, musicians and more to create original work, access valuable resources, gain practical support and inspire creativity.
These films aim to highlight the rich creative diversity of our libraries, and pave the way for emerging artists to head to their local library for ideas and insight for their next big project.
You can view all the films below.
https://www.manchestercityofliterature.com/event/creatives-in-libraries/
Absolutely thrilled to announce this new film poem – created over 2021 in collaboration with amazing filmaker Jane Glennie. Inspired by the life of dancer and choreographer Tilly Losch, the film explores notions of erasure, strategies for persistence and the centrality of creative expression for the life of a woman in perpetual motion.
We are delighted with the reception the film is receiving! A list of film festivals is below.
AND there’s a ‘Book of the Film’!
'Because Goddess is Never Enough (Peculiarity Press, 2022)
Available from Blackwell’s (Waterstones, Amazon, etc)
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Because-Goddess-Is-Never-Enough-by-Rosie-Garland-Jane-Glennie/9781912384167
Flick through the book here –
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zzDN5KKbUccqPZsQ7
Film festivals & events 2022 that have selected & featured 'Because Goddess is Never Enough'
Moving Poems May 2022
'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – selected as one of ‘the best poetry films on the web’
https://movingpoems.com/2022/05/because-goddess-is-never-enough-by-rosie-garland/
Fringe Arts Bath Festival 27 May - 12 June 2022
Bath’s annual free festival of visual arts
'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – selected for WORDPLAY programme
https://www.fringeartsbath.co.uk/festival-2022
https://www.fringeartsbath.co.uk/wordplay
Tranås at the Fringe International Arts Festival 2-9 July in Tranås, Sweden
'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – selected for the LIVING FEMININITY programme.
https://www.atthefringe.org/film-program-2022
Women X Film Festival 2-4 September in Darlington, UK.
'Because Goddess is Never Enough' - Honourable Mention
https://riannepictures.com/womenx
Women Over 50 Film Festival
'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – nominated for Best Experimental film, selected for the AT MY CORE programme
https://wofff22.eventive.org/films/62e15892943cb70054a692d9
https://wofff.co.uk/2022/08/wofff22-films-announced-find-out-more-about-our-fantastic-official-selections/
Athens 10th International Video Poetry Festival 28 September - 1 October 2022
'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – screened 29th September within 'Feminist Struggles' programme
https://theinstitute.info/?p=5226
HOME Manchester, Filmed Up 28th September 2022
‘Because Goddess is Never Enough’ selected for Filmed Up programme.
https://homemcr.org/event/filmed-up-sep-2022/
The Feminist Film Festival, Bucharest, 13-16 October 2022
'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – Official Selection
https://filmfreeway.com/TheFeministFilmFestival
Sunderland Shorts Film Festival October 17th, 2022
'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – selected for the Art & Experimental Films programme
https://filmfreeway.com/SunderlandShorts
Zebra Poetry Film Festival, Berlin 3-6 November 2022
'Because Goddess is Never Enough'.
We are very proud to be selected for Zebra, the oldest and largest international festival of poetry films.
https://filmfreeway.com/ZEBRAPoetryFilmFestival
https://www.haus-fuer-poesie.org/en/zebra-poetry-film-festival/home-zebra-poetry-film-festival/
Still Voices Film Festival, Ireland 9-13 November 2022
'Because Goddess is Never Enough' – Official selection Experimental
https://stillvoicesfilmfestival.com/
It's 40 years since The March Violets released our 1st 7" EP (seriously, FORTY).
So it’s a great time to announce that this tasty 5 CD Box Set is now up for pre order from Jungle Records!
The Palace of Infinite Darkness - In addition to all the singles plus all the extended versions, the box has six excellent BBC sessions, 23 tracks with 9 unreleased songs (also reissued as Big Soul Kiss 2LP yellow vinyl after a sold-out RSD release). Then there are two whole discs of unreleased demo sessions – one from the early period 1982-84 and another from 1985-87. Founder-member Rosie Garland recounts the band’s story in a 44-page booklet.
Check out the link:
https://smarturl.it/MV5CDbox
A wonderful experience – for the first time, I co-tutored a residential writing week for the prestigious Arvon Foundation! It was such a thrill to work alongside inspiring co-tutor Keith Jarrett and electrifying guest reader Jay Bernard.
A very special week. I won’t forget it.
Monday June 27th - Saturday July 2nd 2022
Totleigh Barton, Sheepwash, Beaworthy Devon
https://www.arvon.org/writing-courses/courses-retreats/residential-writing-week-queer-poetry/