Jacob Polley is a British poet and novelist. His collection “Jackself” won the prestigious T.S. Eliot Prize in 2016.
Life and Career
Jacob Polley was born on 2 June 1975 (age 48 years), in Carlisle, United Kingdom.
Polley was born in Carlisle, United Kingdom, and grew up in Bowness-on-Solway. He studied English at Lancaster University from 1993 to 1996 and earned an MA in English and Creative Writing at the University in 1997.
After graduation, Polley worked in various jobs, eventually landing the position of poet-in-residence at the Cumberland News in Carlisle. He taught poetry in local schools and later was awarded a two-year fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was poet-in-residence at the Wordsworth Trust in 2002. Polley published his first poetry collection, “The Brink”, in 2002. The collection was a Poetry Book Society Choice and went on to be shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize. His novel, “Talk of the Town”, won the Somerset Maugham Award in 2009. His penultimate collection of poetry, “Jackself”, published in 2016, won the prestigious T.S. Eliot Prize.
Award and Legacy
His novel, “Talk of the Town”, won the Somerset Maugham Award in 2009.
His collection “Jackself” won the prestigious T.S. Eliot Prize in 2016.
Polley’s work continues to inspire readers and writers around the world. His exploration of identity and the immigrant experience in his works has been particularly impactful.
He has taught for some years at the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. He currently teaches creative writing at Newcastle University, working with fellow poets Colette Bryce, Paul Farley, and Sean O’Brien in its Northern Poetry Workshop.
He was poet-in-residence at the Wordsworth Trust in 2002 and has co-written two short films and collaborated on multimedia poetry installations in the United Kingdom.