Clare Shaw was born in Burnley in 1972 and now lives on the hills above Hebden Bridge. Their first three collections with Bloodaxe were Straight Ahead (2006), which includes a poem Highly Commended by the Forward Prizes for Poetry 2006; Head On (2012); and Flood (2018). Their fourth collection, Towards a General Theory of Love (Bloodaxe Books, 2022), won a Northern Writers' Award for Poetry in 2018 and was a Poetry Society Book of the Year. Their next collection, I Saw What I Know, is due from Bloodaxe in 2027.
Variously described as 'electrifying' and as 'one of the best readers on the scene', Clare performs their work across the UK and beyond. Their poetry has been anthologised, set to music, illustrated and staged, and has featured multiple times on BBC Radio 3 and 4. A passionate advocate for poetry, ecology and social justice, Clare co-edited the Little Toller anthology, The Book of Bogs: Stories of a Yorkshire Moor and other Peatlands, in 2025.
Clare is a popular teacher who specialises in lively engagement and mass participation events. They are regular tutor for the Royal Literary Fund, Arvon Foundation and the Writing School, and they have directed numerous initiatives for poets, including Kendal Poetry Festival. Their Substack written in collaboration with Kim Moore – Shaw and Moore – ranks highly in literature and poetry subcategories and is frequently celebrated as a top resource for writing craft.
Author photo: Clare Mason
