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A. K. Blakemore
Blakemore at the British Library in 2023
Blakemore at the British Library in 2023
Born1991 (age 32–33)
London, England
OccupationPoet, novelist
LanguageEnglish
Period2012 – present

Amy Katrina Blakemore, who publishes as A. K. Blakemore[1] (born in 1991), is an English author, poet, and translator.

Life and career

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Blakemore was born in London, England, in 1991.[2][3] She studied Language and Literature at the University of Oxford.[1] She has published two full-length collections of poetry, two novels, and a poet's manifesto. Blakemore has also translated the work of Sichuanese poet Yu Yoyo and contributes to various literary publications and collections.

Blakemore has written for and been featured in various literary publications including: The White Review,[2] the Poetry Foundation,[4] Partisan Hotel,[5] Ambit,[6] The Poetry Society,[7] and Poetry London.[8]

Her work has been anthologised in Bloodaxe Books' Voice Recognition: 21 Poets for the 21st Century, UEA Publishing Project's Stop/Sharpening/Your/Knives, and Salt Publishing's The Best of British Poetry 2015.[8]

Their debut poetry collection was Amy's Intro, published in 2012 by Nasty Little Press.[3] Full-length collection of poetry, Humber Summer (2015) was published by Eyewear Publishing after Blakemore won the 2014 Melita Hume Prize. She was interviewed on Lunar Poetry Podcast about this collection, reading five of the poems.[9] A full-length collection of poetry, Fondue, was published by Offord Road Books and awarded the 2019 Ledbury Forte Prize for Best Second Collection.[10]

Blakemore translated Sichuanese poet Yu Yoyo's collection of poetry, My Tenantless Body, in collaboration with Dave Haysom. This collection was published by the Poetry Translation Centre as part of their World Poets Series.[11]

More recntly, Blakemore has moved toward becoming a novelist. Blakemore's first novel, The Manningtree Witches (2021), is a fictional account of the Essex witch trials published by Granta Books (UK) and Catapult (US). It was positively reviewed in The Guardian, and was the winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize in 2021.[12][13][14]

The Glutton (2023) is set in 18th-century France. Blakemore's second novel fictionalises the true life story of Tarrare, an impoverished boy in revolutionary France, who becomes known as The Glutton of Lyon for having an insatiable appetite and eating all manner of things. It was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize.[15] It was shortlisted for the 2024 Encore Award, given by the Royal Society of Literature to celebrate the "difficult second novel" that follows an author's literary debut.[16]

Awards and recognition

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Aged 15, she had her poem Peckham Rye Lane published in the London Evening Standard.[1] Blakemore was Foyle Young Poet of the Year in 2007 and 2008.[3] She was awarded the 2014 Melita Hume Prize which resulted in her publishing her first full-length collection of poetry Humbert Summer.[2][3][1] In 2017, The Poetry Society invited her to write a 'poetry manifesto', which she named "The flower is forever my capitain".[17] She appeared at the Greenbelt Festival in 2018.[18] Her second poetry collection, Fondue, was awarded the 2019 Ledbury Forte Prize.[10] Blakemore's debut novel The Manningtree Witches won the 2021 Desmond Elliott Prize. Her second novel, The Glutton, was shortlisted for the Encore Award in 2024.[19]

Books

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Poetry

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  • Amy's Intro (2012)
  • Humbert Summer (2015)
  • pro ana (2016)
  • Fondue (2018)

Work as translator

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  • My Tenantless Body (2019), written by Yu Yoyo

Novels

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  • The Manningtree Witches (2021)
  • The Glutton (2023)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Hadley, Sophie (10 March 2015). "A.K. Blakemore: Wine, Morrissey and improving poetry". Artefact. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "A. K. Blakemore". The White Review. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "A K Blakemore (poet) - United Kingdom - Poetry International". www.poetryinternational.org. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  4. ^ Foundation, Poetry (5 April 2021). "father's last escape by A. K. Blakemore". Poetry Magazine. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  5. ^ "A.K. Blakemore — Hotel". partisanhotel.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Ambit". ambitmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  7. ^ "A.K. Blakemore – The Poetry Society: Poems". Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  8. ^ a b "An Epidemic of the Heart by A K Blakemore". Poetry London. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  9. ^ Ep. 52 - Amy K Blakemore (transcript available), retrieved 5 April 2021
  10. ^ a b "AK Blakemore | United Agents". www.unitedagents.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Interview with AK Blakemore". www.poetrytranslation.org. Interviewed by Tice Cin. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  12. ^ O’Donnell, Paraic (12 March 2021). "The Manningtree Witches by AK Blakemore review – a darkly witty debut". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  13. ^ Merritt, Stephanie (29 March 2021). "The Manningtree Witches by AK Blakemore review – menacing and thrilling debut". The Observer. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  14. ^ McKenna, Steph. "The Desmond Elliott Prize 2021". National Centre for Writing. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  15. ^ Creamer, Ella (21 March 2024). "Caleb Azumah Nelson and Mary Jean Chan shortlisted for Dylan Thomas prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  16. ^ Spanoudi, Melina (30 May 2024). "Novels by Isabella Hammad and Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ vying for the 10k Encore Award". The Bookseller. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Manifesto: A.K. Blakemore – "The flower is forever my captain" – The Poetry Society". poetrysociety.org.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  18. ^ "AK Blakemore". Greenbelt. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  19. ^ Anderson, Porter (31 May 2024). "The UK's Royal Society of Literature Names an 'Encore' Shortlist". Publishing Perspectives.
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