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CCN Durham Branch Leader: Naomi Marklew

Naomi is based in Durham where she moved in 2007 to do an MA in Poetry Studies, having grown up and studied English Literature in Bristol. She stayed in Durham to do a PhD in Contemporary Poetry, during which time she got married. After finishing her PhD, she taught undergraduates in the English Department at Durham University. She also worked as a university librarian in one of Durham’s undergraduate colleges. She has received training in bereavement counselling from Cruse Bereavement Care and has worked within the academic field of Medical Humanities to research links between poetry and grief therapy.

She lives with her husband and two young sons, spending her work time writing creatively and seeking to build creative communities. She has poems published in literary journals and anthologies and continues to write and submit work on a regular basis. She has recently taken part in some experimental writing courses, most notably the Arts Council England funded ‘MumWrite’ development course. She is writing a book about Devotional Creativity, amongst other smaller projects. She is currently experimenting with concrete poetry and futuristic short fiction, as well as with found material from John Donne’s religious sonnets. She is also working on several pieces of creative nonfiction.

She has been involved with music groups within church for most of her life and enjoys playing and collaborating with other musicians. She is seeking to encourage creativity in all its forms at her home church, Emmanuel, Durham. She also likes to relax with knitting, crochet and making creative projects with her children, and is beginning to explore the realm of creativity in the garden.

She is passionate about encouraging people to use and enjoy their creative gifts and helping creative practitioners to find supportive communities.

Visit Naomi’s website


Links to Naomi’s poems:

The thin silence‘, ‘Cope‘  (Amethyst Review).

ToddlerChef‘ (issue #50 of Lighten Up Online).

Dream‘ (issue #3 of –algia).

Selfharm/Selfcare‘, ‘Twitter-light(Selcouth Station website).

Headspace [no vacancies]‘ (issue #69 of streetcake magazine).

Hermit‘ (issue #1 of Second Chance Lit).

‘online/lifeline’ (MumWrite 2020 Anthology).