(photo: Paul Wilkinson ARPS)

Alyson Hallett grew up in Street, Somerset. Her childhood was infused with the shoe factory where her father worked, the view of Glastonbury Tor in the distance and the lattice of rhynes that criss-crossed the Levels. She studied Comparative Literature at the University of East Anglia before going on to gain a distinction in her M.A. in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. Since then she has consistently published poetry in magazines and journals, won competitions, received an Individual Artist’s Award from Arts Council England and presented papers at conferences on poetry. Her first full volume, The Stone Library, has just come out with Peterloo Poets.

As well as reading her work in the U.K., Alyson’s poetry has been translated into Spanish and last year she gave a reading in Guadalajara, Mexico. Jorge Esquinca and Penelope Downes, the principal translators, are currently compiling a dual language book of Alyson’s work that will be published in 2008.

Alyson has published short stories with Virago and Serpent's Tail and her book, The Heart’s Elliptical Orbit (Solidus Press) was published in 2003. These stories explore the perils and pleasures of love, including one about a man who inherits a dead man’s memories when he has a heart transplant.

“These are powerful stories, written with spare eloquence, packed with tension, menace and longing. Alyson Hallett is a new talent to watch.”
Helen Dunmore

She has also written scripts for Sky Television and drama for Radio 4 (Dear Gerald), a play based upon letters that were written by a young boy who was evacuated to South Africa during World War Two.

“...a touching, vivid story based on the hundreds
of letters Gerald sent to his parents.”
The Sunday Times

In 2001 Alyson was commissioned to write a site-specific poem for Bath. The resulting poem, Arise, was then carved into Milsom Street pavement by letter carver Alec Peever.

“..the beautiful carved phrases of Alyson Hallett’s pavement poem seem to float up from the stone beneath your feet like half-remembered dreams.”
Rose Flint, Poetry Society Newsletter

Besides teaching creative writing at Bristol University and co-teaching poetry with James Harpur at the Arvon Foundation, Alyson has been the holder of several prestigious residencies. She was writer-in-residence for Arts Council England, South West for Year of the Artist which led to the publication of 365 (Agre Press), a book of poetry and images inspired by artist’s projects. For two years she was Visiting Writer at the University of the West of England and she has just completed a three year poet-in-residence post at The Small School in Hartland.

Alyson has a long standing commitment to collaborating with other artists. In the early nineties she wrote and recorded poetry with composer Roger Mills for La Stanza Rosa, a dance performance at the Arnolfini, Bristol. Following this, she worked with Neil Jenkins to create poetry for an installation based upon the myth of Icarus at Cornershop Studios. In 1999 Alyson worked with Opus Glass designs and wrote text that was acid-etched into a stained glass window for Bradley Stoke Library. In 2005 Alyson worked with Kamina Walton to create an exhibition, Hidden Images, a project that explores genetic disorders. Another significant – and ongoing – collaboration is with artist and bookmaker Penelope Downes with whom Alyson has made several artist’s books.

Current projects include translating the poems of Jorge Esquinca from Spanish into English with Mercedes Nunez and studying for a practice-based PhD in poetry at St. Mary’s College, London. In 2008 Alyson will take the third stone from her project, the migration habits of stones, to Koonawarra in Australia.

Click here for full details of publications and CV.