Jo Shapcott wins Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry

Royal Gold Medal award for poet Jo Shapcott is described as the 'true crowning' of Londoner's career.

Jo Shapcott has been awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry Photo: PA

By Martin Chilton, Digital Culture Editor, The Telegraph

23 Dec 2011

Jo Shapcott confessed to me at the Hay Festival this year that her ambition was to be Arsenal Football Club's poet-in-residence.

The London-born writer earned more noble recognition today when she was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. This honour recognises her body of work including Of Mutability, which was named Costa Book of the Year.

Past recipients of the Gold Medal, which was instituted by George V in 1933 at the suggestion of poet laureate, John Masefield, have included WH Auden (1936), John Betjeman (1960), Philip Larkin (1965), Stevie Smith (1969) and Ted Hughes (1974).

Of Mutability has been described as her response to being diagnosed with breast cancer and an acknowledgement in the front of the 54-page volume says it "owes everything" to the medical team at Hereford County Hospital who treated her.
Full story at The Telegraph