Two leading poets from Manchester Metropolitan University have been named in the world’s top 10 ‘women poets to read now’.
The Poetry Book Society’s (PBS) rankings place Poet Laureate Professor Dame Carol Ann Duffy and Dr Helen Mort – both from the University’s renowned Manchester Writing School – among the top must-read female poets in the world currently.
The list was voted for by social media followers of the PBS accounts, @PoetryBookSoc, to celebrate International Women’s Day.
PBS’s 100 Women Poets list celebrated the diversity of poetry across the globe, highlighting the power of the female voice.
The double ranking serves to reinforce the creative writing excellence across the School, which benefits students’ learning and is a reflection of the literary strength in Manchester, recently designated a UNESCO City of Literature.
Dr Mort, who joined the University as Lecturer in Creative Writing in 2016, said: “The PBS is one of our foremost contemporary poetry organisations. For two of the University’s poets to be recognised is very special, an affirmation of the depth of quality across the Manchester Writing School.
“The University is home to both established and emerging writers working together, producing new poetry that interrogates the world we live in. This creative excellence filters directly into the teaching, and positions Manchester Metropolitan as a leading creative writing centre on the international stage.”
As well as her work as an award-winning poet, Dr Mort specialises in an emerging strand of creative writing known as place writing, for which Manchester Metropolitan is a leading hub.
She has published two collections of poetry, has been shortlisted for prestigious literary prizes including the Costa Prize and T.S. Eliot Prize, and was a judge for last year’s International Man Booker Prize.
