Katrina Porteous has been shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize for her new poetry collection, Rhizodont (Bloodaxe Books). The collection, named after a fossil fish discovered on the Northumberland coast in 2007, is one of the contenders for the prestigious award, which honors the best new poetry collection published in the UK and Ireland.
Porteous, a Beadnell resident with strong ties to Amble, began her relationship with the town in 1990 when she worked as a poet visiting schools. Her poetry is well-known in Amble, with lines displayed in the town square, a poem at the harbour, and a series of her works featured in the Amble Bord Waalk app podcasts with Geoff Sample. She was also featured in BBC Radio 4’s Open Country in October 2020.
“I called my book Rhizodont because it’s about survival, extinctions, and transformations,” Porteous explains.
The first section of the book explores a journey along the North-East coast, from Durham’s former coal-mining communities to North Northumberland, where the rhizodont fossil was found. Porteous reflects on the contrast between familiar local places, like the birds of Amble harbour, and vast geological time, alongside the history of coal mining and fossil fuel burning. The collection addresses social and environmental change.
The second section of Rhizodont shifts focus to global themes, exploring technological advancements like robotics and AI, as well as Earth’s climate cycles. Porteous is particularly interested in how local communities adapt to global change.
“Amble has changed a lot, from coal staithes and railway lines to a busy tourist destination. Its fishing industry is constantly evolving. Many of the poems examine how local cultures or words, like ‘creeve’ for a lobster pot or ‘Cuddy’s duck’ for the eider, change or vanish in response to global shifts,” she says.
Being shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize has come as a great surprise to Porteous.
“It’s a wonderful affirmation,” she says. “My work is inspired by various voices—fishing families, former coal mining communities, and scientists whose work I studied for the book. These are poems of place, written from areas rarely heard from in London. I’m grateful to everyone who inspired or commissioned these poems, including the Amble Development Trust and my publisher, Bloodaxe Books.”
The ten poets shortlisted for the 2024 T.S. Eliot Prize will read their works at the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday, January 12, 2025. The winner of the £25,000 prize will be announced at a ceremony in London on January 13.
Rhizodont is available from Bloodaxe Books for £12.99.
