Biography

Frances-Anne King was born in Scotland and brought up in South Wales and Pembrokeshire; she studied nursing at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London and then moved to Bath in 1975 when she married. After a career in nursing she studied Creative Writing at Bath Spa University from where she graduated in 2008 with First Class Honours. She continues her poetry education with courses at The Poetry School in London, the Arvon  Foundation, The Poetry Business and online.

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Her poetry has appeared in many national and international journals and anthologies. including Acumen, Agenda, Envoi, The Frogmore Papers,  The Hippocrates Prize Journal, The Interpreter’s House, Poetry Ireland Review, Poetry Wales, Poetry Salzburg Review, Scintilla, Raceme, The Rialto, The High Window ,The British Journal of Psychiatry and New Walk.

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Her first pamphlet, Weight of Water was published by Poetry Salzburg Press in 2013, of which Tim Liardet said ‘ Frances-Anne King’s Weight of Water  strikes a beautiful balance between mystery and disclosure, bravery and tact, the kind of tact which nonetheless keeps her zeal in place.  What underpins the whole collection is not a commonplace ‘accessibility’ but her dignified restraint; the line is balanced and controlled, the vision never in question. It is a memorable first book.’

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In 2016 she edited an ekphrastic anthology, From Palette to Pen, for the Holburne Museum in Bath of which David Morely said, ‘ This is a generous and brilliant collection of images presented alongside ekphrastic poems by some of the best poets writing in the UK. The whole book is an object of art in itself.’ And Penelope Shuttle said ‘The Goddess Ekphrasia has been well served by her sparkling array of poets in this gorgeous miniature of an anthology.’

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Frances-Anne has helped organise events for the Bath Literature Festival and created the Ekphrastic poetry workshop series at the Holburne Museum where she has been its convenor for the past ten years. Her awards are listed under the Poetry section.