Kelley Swain is a poet, writer, and educator living in London, England.
- Pocket Horizon: (coordinator/editor) A collection of poems from the Nevada Street Poets with an introduction by Don Paterson, forthcoming autumn 2013, Valley Press.
- Opera di Cera: Winner of 2013 Templar ‘iOTA Shots’ Pamphlet Awards, forthcoming autumn 2013.
- Atlantic: poetry collection forthcoming May 2014, Cinnamon Press.
- Debut poetry collection, Darwin’s Microscope, published by Flambard Press in 2009 and re-printed in 2010.
- Currently editing: Historical novel Double the Stars: The Life and Adventures of Miss Caroline Herschel, shortlisted (top 10) Cinnamon Press Novel Awards, 2012.
- In-progress: The Naked Muse, a memoir of my experiences as an artists’ model.
- ‘Women, Astronomy, and Greenwich,’ pamphlet published by the Royal Society & the Royal Observatory Greenwich, 2010.
- Signing Darwin’s Microscope
Experience/affiliations:
- Part-time lecturer in Medical Humanities for Imperial College London’s Global Health BSc.
- Writer-in-Residence at the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, Department of the History and Philosophy of Science, Cambridge, 2009 – 2012.
- Fellow of the Linnean Society of London.
- Further publications, reviews, etc on CV page of this website.
Kelley was born during a blizzard in Westerly, RI, in 1985. In 2007 she graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Virginia with an honours degree in English with a focus in Creative Writing and a minor in Environmental Studies. As well as majoring in English, in her final year she was able to study biology, evolution, animal behaviour, zoology, and geology. She went on to complete the Munson Institute for Maritime Studies summer graduate programme at the Mystic Seaport (CT) in the summer of 2007, where she focused on the history of cetology. She moved to London in late summer 2007 and has decided to stay, despite the weather.
Hi Kelley
I thought you might be interested in the competition we are running. It is designed to showcase performance and written poetry. US$2600 of prizes, free entry. All categories, ages and countries. There is an online written section and a performance section, and all you need to do is link to your youtube video. 50 entries through to Round 2 each week. Full details http://www.bookhabit.com/competition
Good luck!
Clare
Hi, Kelley,
I’ve enjoyed reading your poetry, and thought you might be interested in The Tangled Bank, an e-anthology of speculative fiction, artwork, poetry, and comics exploring the legacy of Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution.
For submission guidelines and more information, visit http://thetangledbank.com/.
Cheers,
Chris
Hi Kelley,
I am a botanist/restoration ecologist in Olympia, Washington. I found your name on the schedule for the Linnean Society, and have enjoyed looking through your blog.
I am planning a last-minute trip to London for three weeks at the end of July and into August. I was curious if you had any suggestions of places to visit and must-sees for someone of similar interests. I would love to visit anything pertaining to natural history, botany, sustainable development, etc. Do you have any gems that you would love to share?
Thanks for any suggestions,
-Adrienne
Hi Adrienne,
I would certainly recommend the Natural History Museum and the Royal Botanical gardens at Kew. The Wellcome Trust is not quite as well known as the other ‘big’ museums here in London, and if you have any interest in the medical sciences I would recommend checking it out. The Science Museum (just across from the Natural History Museum) is also great.
Since you’ll be in London for 3 weeks, I recommend a trip to Cambridge, which has an amazing botanic garden and some great smaller museums, including The Whipple Museum of the History of Science, the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, &c. (Check out the University of Cambridge and see all they have to offer.)
Otherwise, I hope you’ll get some sunny days to simply walk around Hyde Park and Regent’s Park.
I recommend taking a river boat east to Greenwich & enjoying the Royal Observatory and Greenwich Park as well. If you want to get in a good castle-viewing, you can take a river boat west to Hampton Court Palace, or even (I believe) to Windsor Castle. (If not a boat definitely a train.)
Enjoy your trip!
Thanks so much for your suggestions. The natural history museum and Kew botanical gardens are a must, and look forward to learning about the others.
Thanks again!
-Adrienne
I just read your poem in the October 2 issue of Science, and loved it. I can’t wait to read Darwin’s Microscope. Will it be published in the US anytime soon?
Hi Alice,
I think I may have replied via email about this; apologies if not!
At the moment, Darwin’s Microscope is only published by Flambard Press, a wonderful little UK publisher.
I’m free to publish DM in the US, which is great, though so far I have not pursued US publication.
I’m pleased you enjoyed the poem in Science and hope you can get your hands on a copy of the book through the web or a bookstore (who would hopefully order it for you; though perhaps an independent bookstore would be more likely to than a ‘big’ bookstore).
Kelley, I am hooked ! What an adventurous journey and can’t wait to read more about how you are becoming “Kelleee” . I posted a link to the blog and your painting
When ( if) you come back you must come and sit with your ukulele.
Bon journée
Ilaria
Formidable! I would love to sit with my Gibson uke – historic! A bientot…
I’m afraid I don’t know, other than checking frequently…or using RSS. Sorry, and thanks for reading!