Alice Oswald

Alice Oswald lives in Devon and has worked as a gardener and poet. She has a particular interest in oral and anonymous poetry and has published three anthologies and seven poetry collections, including Dart, Memorial, and Falling Awake. Among her distinctions are the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry. From 2019 to 2023, she was the Oxford Professor in Poetry.

At the Institute, Oswald will write a procession of passersby, not all of whom are human and many of whom are imperfectly seen: “My inspiration is the wandering, bartering, folktale style of Herodotus, who included 940 characters in his Histories. I shan't be writing history. Perhaps it will be more like a headcount or even a carnival.”