Joe Carrick-Varty
Joe Carrick-Varty | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1993 (age 32–33) |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester |
| Occupations | Poet and editor |
Joe Carrick-Varty is a British-Irish poet from Oxford, England.[1] His debut collection More Sky (2023) was shortlisted for the 2023 T. S. Eliot Prize.[2][3] His pamphlet Somewhere Far (2019) won The Poetry Business's New Poets Prize.[4]
In 2022, Carrick-Varty received an Eric Gregory Award from the Society of Authors, and in 2023 he was named Anthony Burgess Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Manchester.[5][6] His collection Before Violence (2026) was selected as a Poetry Book Society spring recommendation.[7]
Biography
Carrick-Varty was born in 1993. He holds a BA in English Literature/Creative Writing and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Manchester.[8] He is a co-founding editor of online poetry magazine bath magg and a book reviewer for P.N. Review.[9]
In 2019, Carrick-Varty founded bath magg, which published work by poets including Bhanu Kapil, Vona Groarke, Kim Addonizio, and Ilya Kaminsky.[10][11] In August 2023, the magazine entered a hiatus following the death of poet Gboyega Odubanjo at Shambala Festival.[12] Carrick-Varty later wrote an essay remembering Odubanjo for Poetry Foundation, stating: “When a person dies, especially so young, they’re often mythologized … but I don’t want to mythologize Gboyega’s life, because he was my friend; he was so much more than a poet.”[13]
His first book, More Sky, was named one of the best new poetry collections of 2023 by The Irish Times and was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize.[14] It was later shortlisted for the Michael Murphy Memorial Poetry Prize in 2025.[15]
Carrick-Varty's poems have appeared in Granta, the New Statesman, Poetry Review and Poetry Ireland Review.[16][17]
Works
Books
- Before Violence (Carcanet, 2026) — ISBN 9781800175426[18]
- More Sky (Carcanet, 2023) — ISBN 9781800173019[19]
Pamphlets
- 54 Questions for the Man Who Sold a Shotgun to My Father (Out-Spoken Press, 2020) — ISBN 9781838021139[20]
- Somewhere Far (The Poetry Business, 2019) — ISBN 9781912196692[21]
Honors and awards
- 2019 – Poetry Business New Poets Prize, for Somewhere Far[4]
- 2022 – Eric Gregory Award[5]
- 2023 – Highly Commended, Forward Prize for Best Single Poem (Written)[22]
- 2023 – Shortlisted, The London Magazine Poetry Prize[23]
- 2023 – Shortlisted, T. S. Eliot Prize, for More Sky[3]
- 2025 – Shortlisted, Michael Murphy Memorial Poetry Prize, for More Sky[15]
- 2026 – Poetry Book Society Spring Recommendation, for Before Violence[7]
References
- ^ "Joe Carrick-Varty - Carcanet Press". Carcanet.co.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ "More Sky". Carcanet.co.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ a b "Shortlisted TS Eliot prize poets speak to a disrupted world". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ a b "New Poets Prize winners" (PDF). Poetry Business. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ a b "Eric Gregory Awards - The Society of Authors". Society of Authors. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ "CNW Welcomes New Burgess Fellows". The University of Manchester. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ a b "Spring 2026 Listings". Poetry Books Society. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ "Joe Carrick-Varty wins Eric Gregory poetry prize". The University of Manchester. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ "Joe Carrick-Varty - The Poetry Business". The Poetry Business. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ "About". bath magg. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ "Previous Issues". bath magg. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ Bradbrook, Kate; Holland, Kris (30 April 2024). "Gboyega Odubanjo inquest: Coroner says poet's death was accidental". BBC.
- ^ "Remembering Gboyega Odubanjo (1996-2023)".
- ^ Evans, Martina (9 December 2023). "The best new poetry collections of 2023". The Irish Times.
- ^ a b "Michael Murphy Memorial Poetry Prize Competition". The English Association. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ "Joe Carrick-Varty". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
- ^ "Poetry Ireland Review Issue 145 Editorial". Poetry Ireland Eigse Eireann. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ Carrick-Varty, Joe (2026). Before Violence. United Kingdom: Carcanet Press. ISBN 9781800175426. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ Carrick-Varty, Joe (2023). More Sky. United Kingdom: Carcanet Press. ISBN 9781800173019. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ Carrick-Varty, Joe (2020). 54 Questions for the Man Who Sold a Shotgun to My Father. United Kingdom: Out-Spoken. ISBN 9781838021139. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ Carrick-Varty, Joe (2019). Somewhere Far. United Kingdom: The Poetry Business. ISBN 9781912196692. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ Forward Book of Poetry 2023 | Faber & Faber
- ^ "News: Poetry Prize 2023 – Robert Hamberger wins first place for his poem 'Funny Girl'". The London Magazine.