"Lost" female writers inspire poetry collection

In 2003, after a long and varied career teaching English and Creative Writing, Julie retired to dedicate her time to writing full-time. Since then she has seen her poems published in a variety of small press magazines and was editor of the anthology of poems, Collected Poems of Lady Mary Chudleigh.

Julie’s debut anthology, Tessitura, combines a range of poetry inspired by the South West and includes a sequence section on the history of Devon’s women writers, Devon Women, which was borne out of the research she undertook during her PhD.

“During my research in various local archives, I began to realise that women writers in the county have had a 'bad deal', in that there are many who have been either completely forgotten, neglected or even lost from cultural access.” she said.

In addition to writing about these writers, Julie hopes to publish a non-fiction book on the subject and she has her own website. She has also founded a website South West Women Writers which contains information on the women who lived and stayed in the region from 1450 to 1970.

Tessitura is published by Shearsman Books.

Julie will be performing at the Uncut Poets platform at The Exeter Phoenix, on Thursday 30 January 2014.