We’re delighted to be welcoming Arizona-based poet, Jodie Hollander, back to The Morrab Library to be our Poet in Residence for one month. Her Residency is kindly sponsored by The Myner Trust. 

Jodie visited our library in 2023 as part of her national book tour, presenting a reading to members, as well as hosting a poetry workshop. In 2024, she judged the Sonnet category of the Patricia Eschen Prize for Poetry (you can read more about the competition, and the winning sonnet here).   

Her work has appeared in journals such as The Poetry Review, Poetry Magazine, The Yale Review, The Harvard Review, Poetry, PN Review, The Kenyon Review, Poetry London, The Hudson Review, The Dark Horse, The New Criterion, The Rialto, Verse Daily, The Best Australian Poems of 2011, and The Best Australian Poems of 2015.

Her debut full-length collection, My Dark Horses, was published with Liverpool University Press & Oxford University Press. Her second collection, Nocturne, was also published with Liverpool & Oxford University Press in 2023 and was longlisted for the Laurel Prize in nature writing.

Hollander is the recipient of a MacDowell fellowship and a Fulbright fellowship in South Africa. She is also the originator of ‘Poetry in the Parks,’ in conjunction with several National Parks and Monuments in the US. In 2024, Hollander was the first poet in residence for the Elmet Trust in the Calder Valley, where she wrote and taught out of the childhood home of Ted Hughes, She lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.

During her Residency this Spring, Jodie will be running three poetry workshops (find out more and see the booking email below), a Poetry Reading  and a Poetry Open Mic Afternoon tea at the library, which are all open to members and non-members alike.  More information and booking details can be found below, or on our Events calendar. 

We’re going to let Jodie tell you a little bit about her connection to The Morrab Library and her residency…

Why did you want to be ‘Poet in Residence’ at Morrab Library?

 Anyone who steps foot into The Morrab Library will see why it is so beloved – it’s filled with beautiful old books, quiet, inspiring rooms to work from, and unbelievable views of the seas and gardens and wonderful people. Being in the library feels like being transported to an otherworldly place, where poetry, books, nature and kindness seem to matter more than anything else. The library is truly a haven for readers and writers alike and is an ideal place to share my passion for poetry with the engaged literary community in Penzance. When the opportunity to be poet in residence at the Morrab Library arose, I was over the moon and couldn’t wait to begin planning. I’m incredibly grateful to the Myner Trust for supporting this exciting opportunity.

 When did you first visit the Morrab and what do you remember about that first visit? 

I first visited The Morrab Library in 2023, and felt an immediate connection, both to the library, as well as to its patrons, staff and volunteers. I loved teaching workshops, giving readings and having a chance to meet all of the wonderful people who support and frequent the library. One memory that has stayed with me was how engaged and eager the students were in my poetry workshops. Many of the participants stayed after the workshops to talk further about poetry and its place in the world.

That experience really stuck with me, and I look forward to having more of these discussions in the spring.