christine bousfield

Biography

Christine Bousfield is a Bradford-born poet, who spent 27 years researching and teaching, first in Further Education, and (from 1989) in Higher Education, where she taught Literature, Comparative Arts, and Psychoanalysis. She developed creative writing on her MA Courses, working on both poetry performance and poetry as therapy, and has run many workshops and performances outside the university. She often uses dreams and ‘free association’ in her own poetry, and is convinced of the value of writing, humour, and song as a ‘working out’ of memory and history—in her case, sometimes focused on experiences and histories in the Bradford area. She is also fascinated by poetry's connections with music. She used to be a classical singer—more recently performing jazz standards with a band. The poetry she writes often borders on song and is widely published, in national and international magazines (for example, The North, Envoi, Orbis, Dream Catcher and Aesthetica); in anthologies (for example, Sometimes (2006, Cinnamon Press), Images of Women (2006, Arrowhead Press), Mind and Body (2006, Fighting Cock Press); on CD, for example Thinking On (2000, Soundpie), Keep Hold of the Line (2004, Soundpie); and as The Weekend Poem on BBC Knowledge Text. Her pamphlets Tense Formations and Between Stones were shortlisted by Cinnamon Press for their Poetry Collection Award in 2005 and 2008. Several years ago, Christine started a poetry jazz group, Nightdiver, in which the band performs her poetry, developing its musical implications. They perform in festivals and events in the North and beyond, for example at Cheltenham Literature Festival, and Riverlines, York. Recently, she has written a song, ‘Remémoration’, with composer Emma Nielsen (Royal Northern College of Music) for Leeds Lieder at Leeds Music College. This was performed by Manchester mezzo soprano, Carolina Krogius and pianist, Andrew Dunlop, in a recital at Leeds College of Music on 13th October, 2007 and will be performed again at The Royal Northern College of Music on the 14th March 2008. She is about to publish a poetry pamphlet 'Cutting a Rhythm out of Nowhere' and is putting the finishing touches to her poetry collection 'Between Stones'.

Samples

THE HARE I’m an arctic ghost, now figure, now ground, a shiver on the white horizon; a fierce and cunning mother, I bear bone-aching cold, a tenth of my life each gestation; teach my young by secret visits to found their form snug as skin: each tastes my elixir for five minutes before I freeze again with the sun. Yes, I am white as the foot of the Virgin, eyes set on heaven, my children, melancholy, drink my songs in darkness. But I have two faces, two dances to wrong-foot the gods. I scurry, a shadow, carrying wild grasses to those they would see die. For other samples (including audio) of my work, and a much more detailed cv see websites christine-bousfield.com and www.nightdiver.org

All poems are copyright of the originating author. Permission must be obtained before using or performing others' poems.