Candlestick Press
Biographies
Here you can find out more about the huge range of poets we feature in our pamphlets and the artists whose work appears on our beautiful covers.
We’ve now published poems by almost 700 historical and contemporary poets. In our pages you’ll find old favourites alongside twenty-first century voices – everyone from WH Auden to Benjamin Zephaniah. Although our emphasis is on British poetry, you’ll also find Irish, American and Australian writers.
We hope these pages will encourage you to explore further the work of a poet you’ve enjoyed in one of our pamphlets.
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Christine Coates
Christine Coates, a South African poet and writer, holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town. Her poems and stories have been published in various local and international literary journals. She has published two collections of poetry; Homegrown (Modjaji Books, 2014) and Fire Drought Water (Damselfly Press, 2018). Her debut collection Homegrown received an honourable mention from the Glenna Luschei Prize. A new collection is forthcoming.
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Elizabeth Coatsworth
Elizabeth Coatsworth (1893 – 1986) was a prolific American author, best known for her children’s books, of which she wrote over ninety and which include Away Goes Sally, The Cat Who Went to Heaven and Four Incredible Tales. Her first adult poetry appeared in the early 1930s and she continued to publish poetry for over fifty years.
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Mandy Coe
Mandy Coe is a poet and educator, writing for both adults and children and regularly running workshops in libraries and schools. She has published eight books, including several poetry collections with Shoestring Press. Pinning the Tail on the Donkey (Spike Books) was shortlisted for the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize.
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Wanda Coleman
Wanda Coleman (1946 – 2013) was a prolific writer and poet who spent much of her life in Los Angeles. Her work is often political, focusing on issues including racism, female experience and the struggles of living below the poverty line. Wicked Enchantment: Selected Poems was published posthumously in 2022 by Black Sparrow Press and draws on four decades of her work.
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Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 – 1834), poet, critic and philosopher, was one of the Lake Poets. Lyrical Ballads, published in 1798, a collaboration between Coleridge and Wordsworth, is widely acknowledged as representing the start of the Romantic Movement. Some of his best-known works include The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan and the prose work Biographia Literaria (1817). An opium addict for much of his lifetime, he died in 1834.
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Billy Collins
Billy Collins was born in New York City and has published numerous collections of his popular, award-winning poetry, including Ballistics (2008) and Aimless Love (Picador, 2018). He was appointed US Poet Laureate from 2001-2003 and New York State Poet from 2004-2006.
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