Cecilia Knapp
Cecilia Knapp is a poet, playwright and writer who was featured in Vogue as one of the UK’s young writers to watch.
She was shortlisted for the role of London Laureate in 2018 and longlisted for the 2019 and 2020 Outspoken poetry prize.
Her first theatre show Finding Home, an exploration of the loss of her older brother to suicide, toured the U.K. extensively and is published by Burning Eye. Her latest play Losing the Night recently premiered at the Roundhouse, enjoying a sold-out run and UK tour. Most recently, her work has been anthologised in The Dizziness of Freedom an anthology of poetry exploring the subject of mental health.
She has also been commissioned by the TATE, Penguin, The Guardian and the BBC; has written for The Huffington Post, Dazed and The Stage; delivered a TEDX Talk at Warwick University; and was guest curator of Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2016.
She is the current poet in residence at Great Ormond Street Hospital and lead tutor for the Roundhouse poetry collective, a group of 18-25-year-old emerging poets. Her work has been described as ‘mesmerising, totally gripping’, it ‘hits you like a train’, she is ‘an essential writer right now’ (Scroobius Pip) and ‘light as a bird’s feather, often soars’ (Lyn Gardner.)
She is working on her debut poetry pamphlet and has just completed her first novel.
Being a First Story writer in residence for two years has been such a joy. I am hugely proud of the young women I’ve worked with at Fulham Cross for creating books full of brave stories of their identities and experiences, full of courage and fight, protest, honesty and imagination. I really believe in the power of creative expression and I’ve seen first hand how my students have grown in confidence and how their personalities have shone because of the boost that creative writing gives them, the permission to celebrate their own lives and express themselves. Each week in the classroom there is a new opportunity to discuss writing, to read new things, to debate, discuss, challenge, laugh and experiment. It’s a true privilege to be in their company and help them create their magic.
Cecilia Knapp