Colette Bryce

Colette Bryce (b. 1970 Derry) spent much of her twenties reading contemporary poetry while working as a bookseller in London. She started to write poems in the early 1990s. After publishing her first collection in 2000, Bryce won a literary fellowship and has worked freelance as a writer and editor ever since.

The Whole & Rain-domed Universe, her fourth collection, centres on her Derry childhood and questions the nature of memory and the emigrant’s perspective. Bryce was awarded first prize in the National Poetry Competition and the Cholmondeley Award from the Society of Authors in 2010. She cites Emily Dickinson and Louis MacNeice as inspirations.

Her advice to would-be poets: ‘Enjoy the journey. Read widely. Write the poems that only you can write.’

Forward Prizes History:

  • 2014 Forward Prizes for Best Collection, shortlisted for The Whole and Rain-Domed Universe (Picador)
  • 2000 Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection, shortlisted for The Heel of Bernadette (Picador)

    





            Read 'Derry'

            Read 'A Clan Gathering'