08/06/2026
Jackie Risman - WINNER of the Verey Books Prize 2026 - reading her fabulous poem 'Northside, Solway Shore'. Many congratulations, Jackie!
About herself and her poetry, Jackie writes:
"Born and raised in West Cumbria, I settled back here to be full-time carer to my Dad several years ago and to indulge my passion for swimming outside all year round. After long careers in theatre then retail, I taught English abroad, then came back and joined the NHS. It was while teaching younger foreign students how to write stories that my love for creative writing took hold.
In recent years, I've joined local writing groups including North Cumbria Stanza, Wigton Writers, and Cockermouth's Poets Out Loud, where I've met amazingly supportive writers. I've had prose published in several Caldew Press anthologies, and my poetry will soon feature in locally produced zines, and an anthology called 'Through-stone and Thread'; inspired by Cumbrian poet, Norman Nicholson. Currently, I'm working towards my first poetry pamphlet.
Since becoming a carer, however, I read a lot of poetry to calm and inspire my day. Creative writing is important to my wellbeing and writing poetry challenges me to find a fresh way of looking at the natural world or local places I've grown up knowing so well. In the same way that wild swimming encourages me to look at the landscape from a different perspective, poetry teaches me to look closer."
