Peter Carpenter

Peter Carpenter has been a teacher of English from 1980, and has taught at Tonbridge School since 1992, where he was Head of English until 2002. His poems have appeared many literary journals and magazines including the TLS, Poetry Review, Poetry Ireland, Agenda, Stand, The Rialto, the Independent and The Independent on Sunday.

Some poems in Just Like That have previously appeared in the following collections: Choosing an England (Worple, 1997), No Age (Shoestring, 2001), The Black-Out Book (Arc 2002), Catch (Shoestring, 2006), After the Gold Rush (Nine Arches, 2009). His collections have been widely and favourably reviewed in, for example, Poetry London, the TLS, Ambit, The North, Leviathan, Poetry Ireland Review, Staple, English and The Use of English.

Peter has performed his poetry, mentored and run writing workshops for many organisations including the Arvon Foundation, Poetry Ireland, the Dartington, Wessex, Ledbury and Aldeburgh poetry festivals, and Survivors’ Poetry. He was made a Teacher Trailblazer by the Poetry Society in 2009 in recognition of his services in the teaching of poetry.

He has lectured on a variety of topics and authors including Geoffrey Hill (Warwick University and Cambridge University Summer School), Thom Gunn (Agenda conference at UCL, 1999), Louis MacNeice (Aldeburgh, summer 2008) and Bernard Spencer (Reading University Conference: 2009).

Peter has worked in school projects including ‘Write Over London’ at Kenwood House in June 2011, Canning School, Eastbourne College, Dulwich College, Wellington College, Eton College and Radley College (as writer in residence) and the Marsh Academy, for example.