I’m a poet and creative educator. I believe in the power of words and in sharing that power with others.
I have a background in teaching and have taught in a wide spectrum of settings, from hidden gem community centres to bursting-at-the-seams secondary schools.
My interest in language and culture led me to study literature, linguistics and sociology at undergraduate level, as well as creative writing, and I have an MA in Writing Poetry from The Poetry School/Newcastle University.
I was a Mslexia Poetry 2017 finalist and have been published in a wide range of literary & indie poetry magazines (see reviews & publication).
I’m Poet-in-Residence at Vale & Downland Museum 2019 and Patron of Writing at Didcot Girls’ School . I run a poetry evening course for adults and do 1-to-1 mentoring and editorial work with individual poets. I’m a member of The Society of Authors and I live in Oxfordshire.
*Find details of my latest poetry course here*
About my poetry
Jacob Polley (2016 T.S. Eliot Prize-winner) has said that I work with a ‘potent mixture of self-awareness, the subconscious and artistic discrimination.’
Glyn Maxwell (shortlisted for Forward Poetry Prize & T.S. Eliot Prize) calls my writing ‘sure-footed and distinct.’
‘Elaine is a wonderful poet with hawk eye precision and feline play with words’ – Roy Mcfarlane (poet, playwright and writer).
Follow my happenings and #poetweets on Twitter @kitespotter.
