'Poetry East' at the London Buddhist Centre

Maitreyabandhu writes from the London Buddhist Centre with news of the 2011 line-up for Poetry East, their new venture showcasing the work of well-known contemporary poets, exploring the relationship between poetry and spiritual life. He says -  "Hi there all, I'm particularly proud of my line-up for Poetry East next year, so I thought I'd let you know! Here's the details... Love Maitreyabandhu

January 22nd
Penelope Shuttle  has published nine collections of poetry including Redgrove’s Wife, which was short-listed for both the Forward and the TS Eliot Prize. Her new collection, Sandgrain and Hourglass, was a PBS recommendation. 'Her poems of mourning...are among the best she has written.' Elaine Feinstein, The Times.

March 26th
Jo Shapcott won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize for Best First Collection, the Forward Poetry Prize, and the National Poetry Competition (twice). She is Professor of Poetry at the University of London and President of the Poetry Society. Her most recent collection Of Mutability, was shortlisted for the Forward Prize.

October 1st
Jackie Kay won the Cholmondeley Award in 2003. Her Maw Broon Monologues, performed at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow were shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry. Her latest book Red Dust Road, a memoir about meeting her Nigerian birth father, was sterilized on BBC Radio 4. In 2006, she was awarded an MBE, for services to literature.

November 19th
Bernard O'Donoghue is a poet and literary critic. His 1995 collection, Gunpowder won the Whitbread Poetry Award. His Selected Poems was published by Faber and Faber in 2008. He received a Cholmondeley Award in 2009. Bernard is a Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford, and a senior member of the Oxford University Poetry Society