About

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Lawrence Illsley is a poet and songwriter. He is author of the award-winning collection A Brief History of Trees out now from Live Canon. A recipient of the Sophie Warne Award from the University of London he is also the singer and songwriter of the acclaimed album Trees, available now from Tiny Tree Records. His poem Corn Chandelier won the inaugural Beyond the Storm competition in 2020 and his first collection Astra and Sebastian (Proverse, 2011) was shortlisted for the Proverse Prize.

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His poems have been shortlisted for The Bridport Prize and The Charroux Poetry Prize, have featured in anthologies from Write Out Loud, Marsden Poetry Village and MIR, and in Shooter, The Atlantic Review, Quince and Seventh Quarry.

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Born in Cornwall, he now lives in South Wales with his girlfriend and young son. He holds an MA with distinction in Creative Writing from University of London, Birkbeck College and is poetry editor for The Mechanics’ Institute Review.