A SHORT CV
In 2019, Philip Burton concurrently held four poetry competition First prizes, including: the Jack Clemo, the Sandwich (Kent) Poet of the Year, and the Barn Owl Trust. Philip received a commendation from Heidi Williamson in The Poetry Society Stanza poetry competition, 2020, for his poem on the theme of dyslexia.
His poetry publications include The Raven’s Diary (joe publish 1998), Couples (Clitheroe Books Press 2008), His Usual Theft, (Indigo Dreams Press 2017), Gaia Warnings (Palewell Press 2022) and THE LIFE DYSLEXIC (Palewell Press 2021).
A longer literary biography of Philip Burton 2020
Philip Burton has a love for readings and performance, developed through life as an English and Drama teacher, Lancashire head teacher, folksinger, amateur actor, and as a poetry practitioner who, as Pip The Poet, has provided hundreds of poetry days for schools and for adult learners. He was born in Dunfermline and raised in Ramsgate, Kent. Dyslexia was a problem for him as a child; he went on to study science at Edinburgh University.
Philip received a commendation from Heidi Williamson in The Poetry Society Stanza poetry competition, 2020, for his poem on the theme of dyslexia (POEMS section).
Three hundred and seventy of Philip’s poems have appeared in literary magazines and since 1998, including PN Review, and Stand. His poems have been widely anthologized.
In 2019, Philip held four First prizes concurrently in national or international poetry competitions: the National Arts Centre Jack Clemo (interdenominational Christian) poetry competition, 2019, the Horwich WritersHate CrimeAwareness poetry competition 2018, the Sandwich (Kent) Poet of the Year award, 2018, and the BARN OWL TRUST poetry competition, 2017. Philip also won Third prize in the 2019 Hastings poetry competition, and Third prize in The Ware Poets open poetry competition 2020.
Philip’s poem A Fine Line received Second prize in the Ilkley Literature Festival poetry competition 2013, judged by Gillian Clarke. Flood won First prize in the Sentinel Literary Quarterly poetry competition 2014 judged by Will Daunt.Stir won the Teignmouth poetry festival poetry competition, 2015, judged by Penelope Shuttle. Philip was shortlisted for the Kent and Sussex poetry competition in 1998 and was awarded a commendation in 2009.Blessed Fair Sonnet won The Hammicks National Poetry Day prize, Liverpool, 2002. He was joint winner of the Lancaster Litfest poetry competition 2005, and also ofthe Star Magazine rhyming poetry competition, 2006. How to Paint a Marigold won second prize in the Rhyme and Reason poetry competition 2015.The Knave’s Grave won Second prize in the ManyHands Café poetry competition, Manchester, 2009. Rondeau Redouble was placed second in the Albistons Bookshop Poetry Competition, Birkenhead, 2006.Frankincense was awarded third place in the Manifold Spice competition judged by Jim Scrivener. Seasons was highly commended by Jim Bennett in the Perform Poetry competition in 2012. He was shortlisted for theThetford and Wymondham annual poetry competition 1999, and forthe Manchester Cathedral International Religious Poetry competition, 2003. The Poetry Shed was shortlisted by the Davoren Hanna poetry competition, 2003. Winning poetry prizes has meant that Philip has met, and had the experience of reading on the same platform as Adrian Mitchell, Gillian Clarke, Penelope Shuttle, Michael Schmidt and Kei Miller.
During the last fifteen years, over three hundred and seventy of Philip’s poems have been published in literary magazines including Stand, P.N. Review, Smiths Knoll, and in anthologies such as Best of Manchester Poets, Puppywolf. Commonword/Crocus Booksincluded five of Philip’s poems in their Peace Poems Anthology, in March 2003. Seventeen of his poems have been included in anthologies for children published by Macmillan, Folens, and by Scholastic.
He arrived at The Green Room as “a new voice come to Manchester”, and appeared in 2000 on the same bill as Adrian Mitchell at The Burnley Arts Festival. Readings have included: Manchester Poets,Chorlton: The White Hart, Todmorden, Live at The Trades, Haslingden, The Heart Centre, Headlingley, and Roundstone Books, Clitheroe.
Philip has been published by joe publish (Project 101) (1998), Clitheroe Books Press (2008) and Indigo Dreams Press (2017), and has self-published three full collections of poetry; these are available from his website (www.philipburton.net). He always promotes the sale of his books and of anthologies in which his poems appear, for example the launch of The Garden anthology published in Otley by OWFPress (with an introduction by Bob Flowerdew).
Philip studied the OU third level course Twentieth Century Poetry, and enjoyed eight years of WEA creative writing courses (over five hundred hours in all) with Copland Smith as tutor. Philip benefitted very much from the Midsummer Poetry creative writing course at Brantwood House, Coniston, with Penelope Shuttle and Geraldine Green in 2015, and from the residential masterclass tutored by Gillian Clark and Carol Ann Duffy at Ty Newydd Writers’ Centre, Criccieth, in November 2015. Correspondence with contemporary poets, notably Anne Ryland and D.A. Prince, has been a great source of both advice and encouragement.
He attended a University of the Third Age poetry appreciation group in Todmorden for three years and is a member of Clitheroe Writers Group and the Ribble Valley Stanza of The Poetry Society. For six years Philip has judged the Burnley Writers’ Circle annual poetry competition, and was appointed as Honorary President of that organization in 2019. He has given a number of workshops at the NAWE yearly conference; he has also been a mentor with NAWE.
Philip Burton’s poetry publications include The Raven’s Diary (joe publish 1998), Couples (Clitheroe Books Press 2008), His Usual Theft, (Indigo Dreams Press 2017)and Gaia Warnings (Palewell Press 2021) and THE LIFE DYSLEXIC (Palewell Press 2021).