Natalie Crick
Research Project Title:
A Pathway to Murder: Defining a Poetry of Violence in the Work of Pascale Petit and Simon Armitage; and a portfolio of poetry ‘Lee’.
Supervisors:
Prof Bill Herbert and Dr Tara Bergin
Contact Details:
Email: n.crick2@newcastle.ac.uk
Research Interests:
- Contemporary Poetry
- Voice & Perception
- Narrative
- Simon Armitage
- Pascale Petit
- Ekphrastic Poetry
- Trauma & Violence
- Diversity
Brief Outline of Research Project:
My research examines how a pathway of violence is implied in Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster by Simon Armitage and The Zoo Father by Pascale Petit. According to Richard Hugo, our “triggering subjects like our words come from obsessions we must submit to” (The Triggering Town). Hugo’s words are inspirational in light of the modern intensity of the word ‘triggering’. Hugo discusses ways of writing poetry using triggering subjects; subjects that conjure emotion giving life to the poem. I will augment Hugo’s exploration of triggering to research how a pathway to violence is portrayed in poetry; a fictionalized pathway.
I will write a narrative sequence exploring the early life and development into adulthood of a male individual who becomes a violent person, with the potential to kill. This individual will be a fictional character called Lee. It is my intention that, through composing poems for this study, I will create my own definition of violence in poetry.
Poetry published and forthcoming in range of literary journals and anthologies online and in print, including:
Stand Magazine, The Cardiff Review, Orbis, The Moth, Banshee, Lighthouse, Crannog, The Honest Ulsterman, Bare Fiction, The Manchester Review, Poetry Salzburg Review, The Verve Anthology of Diversity Poems: 'We've Done Nothing Wrong. We've Got Nothing to Hide', The Interpreter's House, Strix, Ink Sweat and Tears, Mslexia, The Lonely Crowd, New Welsh Review, Hippocrates Prize Anthology 2019, The Stony Thursday Book.
- Co-Incidental 5 (The Black Light Engine Room Press, 2019)
- The Poetry Review, The Tangerine, Agenda, PERVERSE, The Dark Horse
Creative-practitioner-in-residence at the Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University (2020)
- Nominated for The Pushcart Prize, 2016 and 2017
- Runner-up finalist in the PBS & Mslexia Women's Poetry Competition, 2018
- Shortlisted for The Anthony Cronin International Poetry Award, 2018 (Wexford Literary Festival 2018)
- Commended in the Hippocrates Open Awards for Poetry and Medicine, 2019
- Commended in the Verve Poetry Festival Competition, 2020 (on the theme of diversity)
- Awarded second prize in the Newcastle Poetry Competition, 2020
- Special mention by judge Ilya Kaminsky in the Poetry London Prize, 2020
- Highly commended in the Folklore Poetry Prize, 2020
- Highly commended in the Wales Poetry Award, 2020
- Commended in the Sentinel Literary Quarterly poetry competition, 2021
- Nomination for The Forward Prize for Best Single Poem, 2021
- 'Sexual Violence, Consent and Creative Practice', Newcastle University in connection with the Gender Research Group, April 2020
- Showcase creative work at 'Euromit 2020' conference at The Sage, Gateshead, June 2020
- Regularly performing my poetry as a headliner at literary events, on open mic and at competition events
Research Groups and Memberships:
- What Were You Thinking Group
- Alternative Criticism Group
- Gender Research Group
- Anthropocene Research Network
- Creative Writing Group
- Medical Humanities Group
Projects:
Co-Editor of a small literary press, Fragmented Voices, based in Newcastle and Prague.