Becoming a Poet

A diverse group of acclaimed young writers reflect on their composing processes, writing experiences and developing creative practices.
This book includes over 30 poems with accompanying short essays in which emerging poets reflect on their progression as writers and the journey of their composition from draft to final version.
As well as offering insight into the minds of developing artists, these poets also discuss key issues pertaining to the creative process:
- mentors, inspiration and influence
- their personal poetics
- exploration of poetic identities
- the importance of poetry for mental health
- their writing life and routines, including writing during a pandemic
- experiences of submitting, performing and publishing their work
- building poetry networks

Originating in research from Young Poets' Stories project, the essays are accompanied by commentary by the editors in the hope of inspiring future young poets and their teachers.

Offering a diverse snapshot of young, modern writers and alert to the ever-changing dynamics of writing poetry, Becoming a Poet also offers practical guidance on commissions, mentoring opportunities, competitions, writers’ networks, grants and routes to publishing. Championing young poets and putting them into dialogue with their peers, this is the ultimate exhibition of the voices of tomorrow.

Sue Dymoke (1962-2023) led the PhD programme at the Institute of Education at Nottingham Trent University, UK. She was editor (with Anthony Wilson, Andrew Lambirth, and Myra Barrs) of Making Poetry Happen (Bloomsbury, 2015) and Making Poetry Matter (Bloomsbury, 2015) and was author of Drafting and Assessing Poetry: a guide for teachers (2003) and Teaching English Texts 11-18 (Bloomsbury, 2009). She was the author of four collections of poems, the last of which was What To Do Next (2023). She was external evaluator for the Paul Hamlyn First Story Student Ambassadors scheme, a member of NAWE Higher Education committee and Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature wider board. As a poet, educator and academic, her impact on poetry teaching was internationally recognised.

Anthony Wilson is a poet, writing tutor and Senior Lecturer in Primary English at the University of Exeter, UK, where he works in teacher and medical education. He has published six collections of poetry, the most recent of which is The Wind and the Rain (Blue Diode Press, 2023). His new pamphlet of poems, Plymbridge, published in 2026. Alongside his books with Sue Dymoke, he has edited Creativity in Primary Education (2015) and co-edited The Poetry Book for Primary Schools (1998). He has tutored for Arvon, the Poetry School and the Poetry Business. He blogs at anthonywilsonpoetry.com.

Aisling Walters was a secondary English teacher for nearly twenty years before becoming a Senior Lecturer in the Nottingham Institute of Education at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Aisling leads the Secondary English PGCE. Her research focuses on the writing identities of preservice secondary English teachers (2025) and arts-based pedagogies in Higher Education.