Baja la Guitarra Roja

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Philip Gross has published twenty poetry collections, including four for children, and won many of the major awards in British poetry, from the National Poetry Competition to the TS Eliot Prize. With over thirty years of appearances at festivals and venues, in the UK and abroad, Philip's readings create a feeling not so much of a performance as a conversation.  Born in Cornwall, son of an Estonian wartime refugee, Philip has lived in Plymouth, Bristol in the 80s and 90s and South Wales. Having taught Creative Studies at Bath Spa University, he was appointed Professor of Creative Writing at the University of South Wales in 2004. Philip lives directly across the Severn Estuary in Penarth. His most recent book of poetry, The Shores of Vaikus, was published by Bloodaxe in November 2024. His previous collection, The Thirteenth Angel (2022), was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation, and was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize 2022. 
That followed eleven previous books with Bloodaxe, including Between the Islands (2020), A Bright Acoustic (2017), Love Songs of Carbon (2015, winner of the Roland Mathias Poetry Award and a Poetry Book Society Recommendation); Deep Field (2011, a Poetry Book Society Recommendation); and The Water Table (2009, winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize 2009).
In addition, he has written ten novels and four collections of poetry for young people, as well as scripts for theatre, radio and film, collaborated with a range of artists in other disciplines, and facilitated workshops in schools and at festivals. In short, Philipis one of the most prolific and acclaimed writers in the UK today, and we are absolutely delighted to host him as our featured poet at Under the Red Guitar.