Richard O'Brien

My current works in progress include an experimental novel set in Nantes, France - a coming-of-age story with elements of urban fantasy - a Catholic detective novel inspired by Graham Greene, and a music memoir about my relationship with my favourite band, the Mountain Goats. I'm particularly interested in the co-curation aspect of fan community archives in shaping independent artists' legacies. 

Over the last ten years I’ve published poems on a range of subjects, from domestic space to internet shock images to weird experiments with dolphins. My pamphlets have come out with The Emma Press, Valley Press, and Broken Sleep Books, and I’m working towards a full collection. In 2017, I was one of six winners of the Society of Authors’ Eric Gregory Awards for a collection of poems by an author under thirty. 

I also write for children, for theatre (including musical theatre - I participate as a lyricist in the Book, Music and Lyrics development scheme) and as an academic critic, focused on Shakespeare and early modern literature, and their reception by contemporary creators and audiences. Publications in this field include an article on fictional representations of Ben Jonson, a book chapter on 20th century adaptations of Volpone - including two musicals - and a book chapter on the unpleasant character of Shakespeare in Upstart Crow and Something Rotten. My practice-led PhD research was on Shakespeare and the development of verse drama. 

After an undergraduate degree in English and French, I was a member of the Shakespeare Institute (University of Birmingham)'s first MA cohort in Shakespeare and Creativity. My PhD, which included elements of original creative practice, looked at the impact of Shakespeare on the development of verse drama in English. Since then I've taught in both early modern literature and creative writing departments. I'm a specialist in formal poetry (though this isn't all I write or read!), with interests in influence and adaptation, and I teach on Creative Writing courses at all levels of the UG and PG curriculum.

From 2018-2020 I was Birmingham's Poet Laureate, writing commissioned work in response to local history, and have continued to develop place-based writing in the North East, editing a local poetry column for the I Love North Shields community newspaper. In 2022 I received British Academy funding for the project 'A practice-based approach to auto/biography: Exploring John Darnielle’s Portland.'