Karen McCarthy Woolf facts for kids

Karen McCarthy Woolf is a talented poet who was born in London in 1966. She has both English and Jamaican heritage. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, which is a special honor for writers.

Early Life and Learning

Karen McCarthy Woolf grew up in London. Her father came to the United Kingdom from Jamaica in 1957. He was part of the Windrush generation, which refers to people who came from Caribbean countries to help rebuild Britain after World War II.

Her background as a mixed-race woman is very important to her. It often inspires the poems she writes.

She studied at Royal Holloway, University of London. In 2018, she earned a special degree called a PhD. Her studies focused on modern poetry about nature and different cultures.

Her Journey as a Writer

Karen McCarthy Woolf received help and guidance early in her career. She was part of a program called "The Complete Works." This program was started by writer Bernardine Evaristo. It aimed to support poets of color and help them become more visible.

Her book, An Aviary of Small Birds, came out in 2014. It was nominated for several awards in 2015, including the Best First Collection award. It was also chosen as a top poetry book by Observer magazine.

One of her poems, "Outside," was featured in The Guardian newspaper in December 2017. It was chosen as "Poem of the Week" by another famous poet, Carol Rumens.

In 2019, Karen McCarthy Woolf was a special scholar in the United States. She worked as a poet-in-residence at the University of California, Los Angeles. This meant she spent time writing and teaching poetry there. She also contributed to a book called New Daughters of Africa in 2019. This book is a collection of writings by African women.

In 2020, her poetry collection Seasonal Disturbances won second place in the Laurel Prize. This is an award for nature and environmental poetry.

She also helped judge the 2020 National Poetry Competition in 2021. This is a big poetry contest in the UK.

Today, Karen McCarthy Woolf teaches creative writing. She works at Goldsmiths University.

In 2022, she became a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. This is a very respected group for writers in the UK.

Most recently, in 2024, she was nominated for the T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry. This is one of the most important poetry awards.

Books by Karen McCarthy Woolf

Books She Wrote

• The Worshipful Company of Pomegranate Slicers (2006)
• An Aviary of Small Birds (2014)
• Seasonal Disturbances (2017)
• Top Doll (2024)

Books She Edited

• Bittersweet: Contemporary Black Women's Poetry (1998)
• Ten: The New Wave (2014)
• Ten: Poets of the New Generation (2017)
• Unwritten : Caribbean Poems after the First World War (2018)