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{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See WP:WikiProject Musicians -->
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Hollie McNish
| name = Hollie McNish
| birth_name =
| birth_name =
| image = Hayfestival-2016-Hollie-McNish-portrait.jpg
| image = Hayfestival-2016-Hollie-McNish-portrait.jpg
| caption = McNish at the 2016 [[Hay Festival]]
| caption = Portrait of Hollie McNish
⚫
| birth_place = [[Reading, Berkshire]], England
| background = solo_singer
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| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1983}}
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| birth_place = [[Reading, Berkshire]], England
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| genre = [[Poetry]], [[Memoir]], [[Spoken word]], [[Non-Fiction]]
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| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1983}}
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| years_active = 2009–present
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| genre = [[Poetry]], [[Slam Poetry]], [[Spoken word]]
| label = Yup!
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| years_active = 2009–present
| label = Yup!
| instruments =
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| website = {{url|holliepoetry.com}}
| instruments =
⚫
| website = {{url|holliepoetry.com}}
}}
}}
'''Hollie McNish''' also known as '''Hollie Poetry''', (born 1983), is a British poet, author and [[spoken word]] artist.<ref name="BBC Meet the Author">{{cite episode| title= Meet the Author: Hollie McNish | episodelink= | series= Meet the Author | serieslink= | credits= Presenter: [[James Naughtie]]| network= BBC| station= [[BBC News (TV channel)|BBC News Channel]]| url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08vk8mg| airdate= 15 June 2017| accessdate= 21 June 2017}}</ref> She lives near Cambridge in the UK.<ref name="guardian-bromwich">{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/mar/29/hollie-poetry-mcnish-woman-versus-world-interview-tour | date = 29 March 2015 | accessdate = 14 July 2016 | first = Kathryn | last = Bromwich | newspaper = [[The Guardian]] | location = London | title = Hollie Poetry: woman versus world – one poem at a time}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/16/hollie-mcnish-politics-of-poetry-ted-hughes-prize-winner | date = 16 June 2017 | accessdate = 23 January 2018 | first = Alice | last = O'Keeffe | newspaper = [[The Guardian]] | location = London | title = Hollie McNish: the politics and poetry of boyfriends, babies and breastfeeding }}</ref>
'''Hollie McNish''' is a poet and author<ref name="BBC Meet the Author">{{cite episode| title= Meet the Author: Hollie McNish | series= Meet the Author | credits= Presenter: [[James Naughtie]]| network= BBC| station= [[BBC News (TV channel)|BBC News Channel]]| url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08vk8mg| airdate= 15 June 2017| access-date= 21 June 2017}}</ref> based between Cambridge and Glasgow.<ref name="guardian-bromwich">{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/mar/29/hollie-poetry-mcnish-woman-versus-world-interview-tour | date = 29 March 2015 | access-date = 14 July 2016 | first = Kathryn | last = Bromwich | newspaper = [[The Guardian]] | location = London | title = Hollie Poetry: woman versus world – one poem at a time}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/16/hollie-mcnish-politics-of-poetry-ted-hughes-prize-winner | date = 16 June 2017 | access-date = 23 January 2018 | first = Alice | last = O'Keeffe | newspaper = [[The Guardian]] | location = London | title = Hollie McNish: the politics and poetry of boyfriends, babies and breastfeeding }}</ref> She has published four collections of poetry: ''Papers'' (2012), ''Cherry Pie'' (2015), ''Why I Ride'' (2015), ''Plum'' (2017) and one poetic memoir on politics and parenthood, ''Nobody Told Me'' (2016), of which the Scotsman suggested “The world needs this book...and so does every new parent” and for which she won the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry.<ref name="Poetry Society Ted Hughes Award">{{cite web |url= https://poetrysociety.org.uk/competitions/ted-hughes-award/ |title= Ted Hughes Award|author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website= poetrysociety.org.uk |publisher= [[Poetry Society]] | access-date= 21 June 2017}}</ref><ref name="Poetry Society 2">{{cite web |url= https://poetrysociety.org.uk/news/hollie-mcnish-wins-the-ted-hughes-award-for-new-work-in-poetry/|title= Hollie McNish wins the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry|author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website= poetrysociety.org.uk |publisher= [[Poetry Society]] | access-date= 21 June 2017}}</ref> The latter has been translated into German, French and Spanish. McNish's sixth publication - a second cross-genre collection of poetry, memoir and short stories - ''Slug, and other things I've been told to hate,'' was published in May 2021 with Hachette<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fleet signs 'searing' collection from McNish {{!}} The Bookseller|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/fleet-collection-hollie-mcnish-1092806#|access-date=2020-09-21|website=www.thebookseller.com}}</ref> with a further collection ''Lobster,'' due to come out in 2024, also with Hachette. In 2016, she co-wrote a play with fellow poet [[Sabrina Mahfouz]], ''Offside,'' relating the history of British women in football. This was published as a book in 2017.<ref name="guardian-love">{{cite news|last=Love|first=Catherine|date=20 March 2017|title=Offside: the shocking moment female footballers were banned for 50 years|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/mar/20/offside-play-female-footballers-banned-fa|access-date=23 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="futures">{{cite web|title=Offside|url=http://www.futurestheatre.co.uk/whats-on/offside|access-date=13 June 2018|website=Futures Theatre}}</ref>


McNish has also released an album of poetry and music, ''Versus'' (2014), which made her the first poet to record an album at [[Abbey Road Studios]], London.<ref name="guardian-bromwich" />
McNish has published five books of poetry: ''Papers'' (2012), ''Cherry Pie'' (2015), ''Why I Ride'' (2015), ''Nobody Told Me'' (2016), and ''Plum'' (2017). ''Nobody Told Me'' won the 2016 [[Ted Hughes Award]] for New Work in Poetry.<ref name="Poetry Society Ted Hughes Award">{{cite web |url= https://poetrysociety.org.uk/competitions/ted-hughes-award/ |title= Ted Hughes Award|author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= |website= poetrysociety.org.uk |publisher= [[Poetry Society]] | accessdate= 21 June 2017}}</ref><ref name="Poetry Society 2">{{cite web |url= https://poetrysociety.org.uk/news/hollie-mcnish-wins-the-ted-hughes-award-for-new-work-in-poetry/|title= Hollie McNish wins the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry|author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= |website= poetrysociety.org.uk |publisher= [[Poetry Society]] | accessdate= 21 June 2017}}</ref> She released an album of spoken word and music, ''Versus'' (2014), recorded at [[Abbey Road Studios]].<ref name="guardian-bromwich" /> A play co-written with [[Sabrina Mahfouz]], ''Offside,'' played in theatres<ref name="guardian-love">{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/mar/20/offside-play-female-footballers-banned-fa | date = 20 March 2017 | accessdate = 23 January 2018 | first = Catherine | last = Love | newspaper = [[The Guardian]] | location = London | title = Offside: the shocking moment female footballers were banned for 50 years}}</ref><ref name="futures">{{cite web|url=http://www.futurestheatre.co.uk/whats-on/offside|title=Offside|website=Futures Theatre|accessdate=13 June 2018}}</ref> and was published as a book in 2017.


As well as her own publications, McNish has written and performed poems for various campaigns and organisations, including The Economist Education Foundation, [[Durex]]'s campaign for orgasm equality, and The Eve Appeal.
She makes a living as a full-time poet, doing readings, and organising poetry classes and workshops, mostly in schools, often for pupils who are struggling.<ref name="guardian-bromwich" />


==Early life ==
==Early life ==
Born in Reading in 1984 to [[Glaswegian]] parents,<ref name="Standard Issue 2 October 2014">{{cite web|url=http://standardissuemagazine.com/arts/rhyme-reason/ |title=Rhyme and Reason| last= Dunleavy| first= Hannah| website=Standardissuemagazine.com |date= 2 October 2014|accessdate= 21 June 2017}}</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/feb/13/poetry-breastfeeding-and-sex ''The Guardian'': Poetry, breastfeeding and sex, by Emma Cook, 13 February 2016]</ref> McNish grew up in a village outside the town, attending the local [[comprehensive school]].<ref name="Guardian 17 June 2017">{{cite news |last= O'Keeffe |first= Alice | authorlink= |title= The books interview: 'I always attracted mums and midwives. Now I get poetry lovers' Hollie McNish |url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/16/hollie-mcnish-politics-of-poetry-ted-hughes-prize-winner | date= 17 June 2017|newspaper= [[The Guardian]] (Review section) |location=London| page= 9| accessdate= 21 June 2017 }}</ref> She studied French and German at [[King's College, Cambridge]], before studying part-time for a master's degree in [[international development]] and [[economics]] at the [[School of Oriental and African Studies]], [[University of London]].<ref name="Standard Issue 2 October 2014"/><ref name="Voice">{{cite web|title=Interview with Hollie McNish, poet and spoken word artist|url=https://www.voicemag.uk/interview/interview-with-hollie-mcnish-poet-and-spoken-word-artist|website=Voice Magazine|accessdate=22 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hollie McNish - LinkedIn Profile|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollie-mcnish-b1901027/?ppe=1|website=[[LinkedIn]]|publisher=LinkedIn Corporation|accessdate=22 June 2017}}</ref>
Born in Reading in 1983 to [[Glaswegian|Scottish]] parents,<ref name="Standard Issue 2 October 2014">{{cite web|url=http://standardissuemagazine.com/arts/rhyme-reason/ |title=Rhyme and Reason| last= Dunleavy| first= Hannah| website=Standardissuemagazine.com |date= 2 October 2014|access-date= 21 June 2017}}</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/feb/13/poetry-breastfeeding-and-sex ''The Guardian'': Poetry, breastfeeding and sex, by Emma Cook, 13 February 2016]</ref> McNish attended the local [[comprehensive school]], Bucklebury Primary with a brief two year scholarship to Prior's Court School for the final years of this primary education.<ref name="Guardian 17 June 2017">{{cite news |last= O'Keeffe |first= Alice |title= The books interview: 'I always attracted mums and midwives. Now I get poetry lovers' Hollie McNish |url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/16/hollie-mcnish-politics-of-poetry-ted-hughes-prize-winner | date= 17 June 2017|newspaper= [[The Guardian]] (Review section) |location=London| page= 9| access-date= 21 June 2017 }}</ref> For secondary school, she attended St Bartholomew's Comprehensive School, Newbury, during which time she worked part-time at Little Chef, Chieveley Services and Boots the Chemist, Newbury, both of which she has written about in her fourth collection, Plum.<ref name="Scotsman">{{Cite web|title=Book review: Plum, by Hollie McNish|url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/books/book-review-plum-hollie-mcnish-1445816|access-date=2020-09-21|website=www.scotsman.com|language=en}}</ref> She studied Modern and Medieval Languages at [[King's College, Cambridge]], with a third year abroad teaching English in Guadeloupe, French West Indies, where she learnt Guadeloupian Creole to English translation. She went on to take a part-time master's degree in [[international development]] and [[economics]] at the [[School of Oriental and African Studies]], [[University of London]].<ref name="Standard Issue 2 October 2014"/><ref name="Voice">{{cite web|title=Interview with Hollie McNish, poet and spoken word artist|url=https://www.voicemag.uk/interview/interview-with-hollie-mcnish-poet-and-spoken-word-artist|website=Voice Magazine|access-date=22 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hollie McNish - LinkedIn Profile|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollie-mcnish-b1901027/?ppe=1|website=[[LinkedIn]]|publisher=LinkedIn Corporation|access-date=22 June 2017}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
Before becoming a full-time writer in 2014, McNish worked in Boots the Chemist, Soul Tree nightclub, Little Chef services, Mayhem Clothing Store and for five years as Administrative Assistant and later Education Officer with the East of England Urban Design Centre, Shape East.
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A number of McNish's [[YouTube]] videos have gone viral and in 2015 her account had had over 4.1 million views.<ref name="guardian-bromwich" /><ref name=arts>{{cite web|title=News Release - Arts Foundation Awards 2015|url=http://www.artsfoundation.co.uk/sites/all/themes/artsfoundation/pdf/SpokenWordAward2015.pdf|website=Arts Foundation|accessdate=17 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217163919/http://www.artsfoundation.co.uk/sites/all/themes/artsfoundation/pdf/SpokenWordAward2015.pdf|archive-date=17 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hollie McNish|url=https://www.youtube.com/user/holliemcnish/about|website=YouTube|accessdate=17 February 2015}}</ref> She received major national airplay on the [[BBC]], first in January 2015 on [[Huw Stephens]]' [[BBC Radio 1]] show and then in May 2015 on [[BBC Radio 1Xtra]] as part of a [[spoken word]] event.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hue Stephens: Heavenly Records In The Studio|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04xnhbd|website=[[BBC Radio 1]]|publisher=[[BBC]]|accessdate=14 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Words First: The launch event|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02sp66t/p02tst6v|website=BBC Radio 1XTRA|publisher=[[BBC]]|accessdate=14 July 2016}}</ref>


Her first live poetry reading was at basement open mic night Poetry Unplugged, [[Poetry Café]], Covent Garden, London.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Poetry Café – The Poetry Society|url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/poetry-cafe/|access-date=2020-09-21|website=poetrysociety.org.uk}}</ref> She has since performed worldwide at a number of UK and international events, alongside a variety of artists at Edinburgh's [[Neu!Reekie!]] events including [[Charlotte Church]], [[Young Fathers]], [[Jackie Kay]] and [[Kae Tempest]]. She tours most regularly with poets Vanessa Kisuule and Michael Pedersen.
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Her spoken word album, ''Versus'', was released in September 2014 under the pseudonym '''Hollie Poetry.''' She recorded it at [[Abbey Road Studios]] and was the first poet to do so.<ref name="guardian-bromwich" /> It is "divided into two sides: one of straightforward spoken-word poetry, and the other featuring the same poems but with backing beats (courtesy of producers including Boxsta and Inja)".<ref name="guardian-bromwich" /> The album ''Poetry versus Orchestra'' (2016) has McNish's poetry "in combination with music written by composer and conductor [[Jules Buckley]] and played by the [[Metropole Orkest]]."<ref>"[https://www.mo.nl/en/2016/10/new-release-poetry-versus-orchestra New release – Poetry versus Orchestra: Friday October 7 2016]", [[Metropole Orkest]]. Accessed 23 January 2018</ref>


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In 2014 McNish adopted the pseudonym '''Hollie Poetry''' after online abuse led her to fear using her surname. She released one album, ''Versus'', in September 2014 under this pseudonym, recorded it at [[Abbey Road Studios]] and making her the first poet to do so.<ref name="guardian-bromwich" /> A second album ''Poetry versus Orchestra'' (2016) was later released, featuring McNish's poetry "in combination with music written by composer and conductor [[Jules Buckley]] and played by the [[Metropole Orkest]]."<ref>"[https://www.mo.nl/en/2016/10/new-release-poetry-versus-orchestra New release – Poetry versus Orchestra: Friday October 7 2016]", [[Metropole Orkest]]. Accessed 23 January 2018</ref> which was performed in a one of live concert at [[Cadogan Hall]], London. In 2017 McNish returned to the use of her surname for all published works.
McNish has collaborated with [[Kate Tempest]] and [[George the Poet]] and they appeared on stage with her during her 2015 tour.<ref name="guardian-bromwich" /> She co-wrote a play with [[Sabrina Mahfouz]], ''Offside,'' that played in theatres in Harrogate<ref name="guardian-love" /> and at [[Edinburgh Festival]]<ref name="futures" /> and was published as a book in 2017. McNish was also a vocal advocate for [[No More Page 3]], and has produced poetry in support of the campaign.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Interview with poet Hollie McNish {{!}} Books {{!}} The Skinny|url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/festivals/edinburgh-festivals/books/speaking-out-an-interview-with-hollie-mcnish|website=www.theskinny.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref>


In 2016 BBC Radio 4 ''[[Woman's Hour]]'' broadcast a 7 part radio short documentary series hosted by McNish entitled ''Becoming a Mother: A Hot Cup of Tea with Hollie McNish.''<ref name="Woman's Hour October 2016">{{cite episode| title= Felicity Kendal, Icelandic feminism, Clothes on TV, Hollie McNish| episodelink= | series= [[Woman's Hour]] | credits= Presenter: [[Jane Garvey (broadcaster)|Jane Garvey]]; Producer: Erin Riley | network= BBC| station= [[BBC Radio 4]]| url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07zxgqr| airdate= 25 October 2016| minutes=26:20| accessdate= 21 June 2017}}</ref>
In 2016 BBC Radio 4 ''[[Woman's Hour]]'' broadcast a seven-part radio short documentary series hosted by McNish entitled ''Becoming a Mother: A Hot Cup of Tea with Hollie McNish''<ref name="Woman's Hour October 2016">{{cite episode|title=Felicity Kendal, Icelandic feminism, Clothes on TV, Hollie McNish|series=[[Woman's Hour]]|credits=Presenter: [[Jane Garvey (broadcaster)|Jane Garvey]]; Producer: Erin Riley|network=BBC|station=[[BBC Radio 4]]|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07zxgqr|airdate=25 October 2016|minutes=26:20|access-date=21 June 2017}}</ref> which explored motherhood from many angles, including poverty, linguistic barriers, mothering as migrants and teenage parenting.


In 2018, she was artist in residence at Chester's [[Storyhouse]].
In an interview with McNish for ''[[The Guardian]]'' in June 2017, Alice O'Keeffe described her book ''Nobody Told Me'' as, <blockquote>"a scrappy, chaotic, heartfelt portrait of new motherhood, from the moment McNish found out she was pregnant (in the toilets at King’s Cross station on her way to Glastonbury) to her daughter turning three. It includes diary entries, poems jotted in the dead of night and during nap-times, breathless musings on breastfeeding, sex after giving birth, and the state of the world."<ref name="Guardian 17 June 2017"/></blockquote>


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As well as live events, McNish is also an advocate for online poetry readings and a number of McNish's [[YouTube]] videos have gone viral. By 2015 her youtube account had had over 4.1 million views.<ref name="guardian-bromwich" /><ref name="arts">{{cite web|title=News Release - Arts Foundation Awards 2015|url=http://www.artsfoundation.co.uk/sites/all/themes/artsfoundation/pdf/SpokenWordAward2015.pdf|website=Arts Foundation|access-date=17 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217163919/http://www.artsfoundation.co.uk/sites/all/themes/artsfoundation/pdf/SpokenWordAward2015.pdf|archive-date=17 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hollie McNish|url=https://www.youtube.com/user/holliemcnish/about|website=YouTube|access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> In 2020, during the coronavirus lockdown, McNish began her regular online event: Poems in Pyjamas, streamed each Sunday night between 9.30-10pm for free on her instagram and facebook channels.
She makes a living as a full-time poet, doing readings, and organising poetry classes and workshops, mostly in schools, often for pupils who are struggling.<ref name="guardian-bromwich" />


She is a patron of Baby Milk Action, a network of over 270 citizens groups in more than 160 countries whose aim is 'to stop misleading marketing by the baby feeding industry... protect breastfeeding and babies fed on formula to prevent unnecessary death and suffering'.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our mission {{!}} Baby Milk Action|url=http://www.babymilkaction.org/about-us|access-date=2020-09-21|language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2018 poet [[Rebecca Watts]] refused to review ''Plum'' for ''[[P. N. Review]],'' instead writing a polemical article titled "Cult of the Noble Amateur" in which she said:

"Plum is the product not of a poet but of a personality. I was supposed to be reviewing it, but to do so for a poetry journal would imply that it deserves to be taken seriously as poetry. Besides, I was too distracted by the pathological attitude of its faux-naïve author, and too offended by its editor’s exemplary bad faith, to ignore the broader questions it provokes."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pnreview.co.uk/cgi-bin/scribe?item_id=10090|title=PN Review Print and Online Poetry Magazine - The Cult of the Noble Amateur - Rebecca Watts - PN Review 239|website=www.pnreview.co.uk|accessdate=13 June 2018}}</ref> This article received coverage in several national news outlets such as ''[[The Guardian]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/23/poetry-world-split-over-polemic-attacking-amateur-work-by-young-female-poets|title=Poetry world split over polemic attacking 'amateur' work by 'young female poets'|first1=Alison|last1=Flood|first2=Sian|last2=Cain|date=23 January 2018|website=the Guardian|accessdate=13 June 2018}}</ref> and the BBC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09nrsg1|title=Paapa Essiedu, Rebecca Watts and Don Paterson, A J Finn, Front Row - BBC Radio 4|website=BBC|accessdate=13 June 2018}}</ref>
==Critical response==
McNish's work has divided critics, with [[P. N. Review]] going so far as to refuse to review her 2018 [[Picador (imprint)|Picador]] publication Plum, because 'to do so for a poetry journal would imply that it deserves to be taken seriously as poetry'. Following an online response from McNish,<ref name="PN">{{Cite web|date=2018-01-21|title=PN Review|url=https://holliepoetry.com/2018/01/21/pn-review/|access-date=2020-09-21|website=Hollie Poetry|language=en}}</ref> this article received coverage in several national news outlets such as ''[[The Guardian]]''<ref>{{cite web|last1=Flood|first1=Alison|last2=Cain|first2=Sian|date=23 January 2018|title=Poetry world split over polemic attacking 'amateur' work by 'young female poets'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/23/poetry-world-split-over-polemic-attacking-amateur-work-by-young-female-poets|access-date=13 June 2018|website=the Guardian}}</ref> and the BBC.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paapa Essiedu, Rebecca Watts and Don Paterson, A J Finn, Front Row - BBC Radio 4|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09nrsg1|access-date=13 June 2018|website=BBC}}</ref> In the same year, Emma Watson named McNish, alongside other poets [[Rupi Kaur]] and [[Sabrina Mahfouz]], as having reignited her love for poetry.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Eden|title=Emma Watson picks Rupi Kaur's 'Milk and Honey' for Our Shared Shelf|url=https://www.emmawatson-updates.com/2018/07/emma-watson-picks-rupi-kaurs-milk-and.html|access-date=2020-09-21|language=en}}</ref>

Commentary on her work has included:

"''But even by the standards of the defiantly lawless world of performance poetry, McNish, the English-raised daughter of Scottish parents, must seem – to some, at least – like a bewildering law unto herself."''

'''- [[The Scotsman]]'''<ref name="Scotsman"/>

"...''abundant in expletives and unintimidating to anyone who considers ignorance a virtue."''

'''- [[P. N. Review|PN Review]]'''<ref name="PN"/>


==Publications==
==Publications==
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*''Nobody Told Me: Poetry and Parenthood.'' London: [[Little, Brown Book Group|Blackfriars]], 2016. {{ISBN|9780349134352}}.
*''Nobody Told Me: Poetry and Parenthood.'' London: [[Little, Brown Book Group|Blackfriars]], 2016. {{ISBN|9780349134352}}.
*''Plum.'' UK: [[Picador (imprint)|Picador]], 2017. {{ISBN|9781509815760}}.
*''Plum.'' UK: [[Picador (imprint)|Picador]], 2017. {{ISBN|9781509815760}}.
*''Slug''...''and other things i'm told to hate''. London: [[Fleet Publishing]], 2021. {{ISBN|9780349726359}}


===Play===
===Play===
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==Albums==
==Albums==
*''Push Kick: A Journey Through the Beauty, Brilliance and Bollocks of Having a Baby'' (2010) [https://open.spotify.com/album/48WRmbdQi2nFfYjArPIVii Push Kick on Spotify]
*''Touch'' (2010) [https://open.spotify.com/album/6MleMVH8RkdBab1iK4jMCo Touch on Spotify]
*''Versus'' (2014, Yup! Records) – Double album as Hollie Poetry
*''Versus'' (2014, Yup! Records) – Double album as Hollie Poetry
*''Poetry versus Orchestra'' (Mo Black, 2016) – McNish with [[Jules Buckley]] and [[Metropole Orkest]]
*''Poetry versus Orchestra'' (Mo Black, 2016) – with [[Jules Buckley]] and [[Metropole Orkest]]


==Awards==
==Awards==
*2009: Winner, ''UK Slam Poetry Competition'' and went on to finish third in the global ''Slam Du Monde'' contest.<ref name="guardian-bromwich" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Hollie McNish, Poet & Spoken Word Artist.|url=http://www.artsawardvoice.com/magazine/articles/interviews/interview-hollie-mcnish-poet-and-spoken-word-artist|website=Arts Award Voice|accessdate=17 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217165715/http://www.artsawardvoice.com/magazine/articles/interviews/interview-hollie-mcnish-poet-and-spoken-word-artist#|archive-date=2015-02-17|url-status=dead|df=}}</ref>
*2009: Winner, ''UK Slam Poetry Competition'' and went on to finish third in the global ''Slam Du Monde'' contest.<ref name="guardian-bromwich" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Hollie McNish, Poet & Spoken Word Artist.|url=http://www.artsawardvoice.com/magazine/articles/interviews/interview-hollie-mcnish-poet-and-spoken-word-artist|website=Arts Award Voice|access-date=17 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217165715/http://www.artsawardvoice.com/magazine/articles/interviews/interview-hollie-mcnish-poet-and-spoken-word-artist|archive-date=2015-02-17|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*2015: Winner, Fellowships 2015, [[The Arts Foundation]]<ref>"[http://www.artsfoundation.co.uk/winners-and-shortlist/2015 Shortlisted Artists of the Fellowships 2015]", The Arts Foundation. Accessed 23 January 2018.</ref>
*2015: Winner, Fellowships 2015, [[The Arts Foundation]]<ref>"[http://www.artsfoundation.co.uk/winners-and-shortlist/2015 Shortlisted Artists of the Fellowships 2015]", The Arts Foundation. Accessed 23 January 2018.</ref>
*2016: [[Ted Hughes Award]] for New Work in Poetry, for ''Nobody Told Me''<ref name="Poetry Society Ted Hughes Award" /><ref name="Poetry Society 2" />
*2016: [[Ted Hughes Award]] for New Work in Poetry, for ''Nobody Told Me''<ref name="Poetry Society Ted Hughes Award" /><ref name="Poetry Society 2" />
*2019: K Blundell Trust Award from Royal Society of Authors


==References==
==References==
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Latest revision as of 18:07, 2 March 2024

Hollie McNish
Portrait of Hollie McNish
Portrait of Hollie McNish
Background information
Born1983 (age 40–41)
Reading, Berkshire, England
GenresPoetry, Memoir, Spoken word, Non-Fiction
Years active2009–present
LabelsYup!
Websiteholliepoetry.com

Hollie McNish is a poet and author[1] based between Cambridge and Glasgow.[2][3] She has published four collections of poetry: Papers (2012), Cherry Pie (2015), Why I Ride (2015), Plum (2017) and one poetic memoir on politics and parenthood, Nobody Told Me (2016), of which the Scotsman suggested “The world needs this book...and so does every new parent” and for which she won the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry.[4][5] The latter has been translated into German, French and Spanish. McNish's sixth publication - a second cross-genre collection of poetry, memoir and short stories - Slug, and other things I've been told to hate, was published in May 2021 with Hachette[6] with a further collection Lobster, due to come out in 2024, also with Hachette. In 2016, she co-wrote a play with fellow poet Sabrina Mahfouz, Offside, relating the history of British women in football. This was published as a book in 2017.[7][8]

McNish has also released an album of poetry and music, Versus (2014), which made her the first poet to record an album at Abbey Road Studios, London.[2]

As well as her own publications, McNish has written and performed poems for various campaigns and organisations, including The Economist Education Foundation, Durex's campaign for orgasm equality, and The Eve Appeal.

Early life[edit]

Born in Reading in 1983 to Scottish parents,[9][10] McNish attended the local comprehensive school, Bucklebury Primary with a brief two year scholarship to Prior's Court School for the final years of this primary education.[11] For secondary school, she attended St Bartholomew's Comprehensive School, Newbury, during which time she worked part-time at Little Chef, Chieveley Services and Boots the Chemist, Newbury, both of which she has written about in her fourth collection, Plum.[12] She studied Modern and Medieval Languages at King's College, Cambridge, with a third year abroad teaching English in Guadeloupe, French West Indies, where she learnt Guadeloupian Creole to English translation. She went on to take a part-time master's degree in international development and economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.[9][13][14]

Career[edit]

Before becoming a full-time writer in 2014, McNish worked in Boots the Chemist, Soul Tree nightclub, Little Chef services, Mayhem Clothing Store and for five years as Administrative Assistant and later Education Officer with the East of England Urban Design Centre, Shape East.

Her first live poetry reading was at basement open mic night Poetry Unplugged, Poetry Café, Covent Garden, London.[15] She has since performed worldwide at a number of UK and international events, alongside a variety of artists at Edinburgh's Neu!Reekie! events including Charlotte Church, Young Fathers, Jackie Kay and Kae Tempest. She tours most regularly with poets Vanessa Kisuule and Michael Pedersen.

In 2014 McNish adopted the pseudonym Hollie Poetry after online abuse led her to fear using her surname. She released one album, Versus, in September 2014 under this pseudonym, recorded it at Abbey Road Studios and making her the first poet to do so.[2] A second album Poetry versus Orchestra (2016) was later released, featuring McNish's poetry "in combination with music written by composer and conductor Jules Buckley and played by the Metropole Orkest."[16] which was performed in a one of live concert at Cadogan Hall, London. In 2017 McNish returned to the use of her surname for all published works.

In 2016 BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour broadcast a seven-part radio short documentary series hosted by McNish entitled Becoming a Mother: A Hot Cup of Tea with Hollie McNish[17] which explored motherhood from many angles, including poverty, linguistic barriers, mothering as migrants and teenage parenting.

In 2018, she was artist in residence at Chester's Storyhouse.

As well as live events, McNish is also an advocate for online poetry readings and a number of McNish's YouTube videos have gone viral. By 2015 her youtube account had had over 4.1 million views.[2][18][19] In 2020, during the coronavirus lockdown, McNish began her regular online event: Poems in Pyjamas, streamed each Sunday night between 9.30-10pm for free on her instagram and facebook channels.

She is a patron of Baby Milk Action, a network of over 270 citizens groups in more than 160 countries whose aim is 'to stop misleading marketing by the baby feeding industry... protect breastfeeding and babies fed on formula to prevent unnecessary death and suffering'.[20]

Critical response[edit]

McNish's work has divided critics, with P. N. Review going so far as to refuse to review her 2018 Picador publication Plum, because 'to do so for a poetry journal would imply that it deserves to be taken seriously as poetry'. Following an online response from McNish,[21] this article received coverage in several national news outlets such as The Guardian[22] and the BBC.[23] In the same year, Emma Watson named McNish, alongside other poets Rupi Kaur and Sabrina Mahfouz, as having reignited her love for poetry.[24]

Commentary on her work has included:

"But even by the standards of the defiantly lawless world of performance poetry, McNish, the English-raised daughter of Scottish parents, must seem – to some, at least – like a bewildering law unto herself."

- The Scotsman[12]

"...abundant in expletives and unintimidating to anyone who considers ignorance a virtue."

- PN Review[21]

Publications[edit]

Poetry[edit]

  • Papers. London: Greenwich Exchange, 2012. ISBN 978-1906075675.
  • Cherry Pie. Burning Eye, 2015. ISBN 978-1909136557. Illustrated by various artists and illustrators.
  • Why I Ride: Because a Bike Pedal Lasts Longer Than a Gas Tank. Brattleboro, VT: Green Writers Press, 2015. ISBN 978-0989310482.
  • Nobody Told Me: Poetry and Parenthood. London: Blackfriars, 2016. ISBN 9780349134352.
  • Plum. UK: Picador, 2017. ISBN 9781509815760.
  • Slug...and other things i'm told to hate. London: Fleet Publishing, 2021. ISBN 9780349726359

Play[edit]

Albums[edit]

Awards[edit]

  • 2009: Winner, UK Slam Poetry Competition and went on to finish third in the global Slam Du Monde contest.[2][25]
  • 2015: Winner, Fellowships 2015, The Arts Foundation[26]
  • 2016: Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry, for Nobody Told Me[4][5]
  • 2019: K Blundell Trust Award from Royal Society of Authors

References[edit]

  1. ^ Presenter: James Naughtie (15 June 2017). "Meet the Author: Hollie McNish". Meet the Author. BBC. BBC News Channel. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Bromwich, Kathryn (29 March 2015). "Hollie Poetry: woman versus world – one poem at a time". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  3. ^ O'Keeffe, Alice (16 June 2017). "Hollie McNish: the politics and poetry of boyfriends, babies and breastfeeding". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Ted Hughes Award". poetrysociety.org.uk. Poetry Society. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Hollie McNish wins the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry". poetrysociety.org.uk. Poetry Society. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  6. ^ "Fleet signs 'searing' collection from McNish | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  7. ^ Love, Catherine (20 March 2017). "Offside: the shocking moment female footballers were banned for 50 years". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Offside". Futures Theatre. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  9. ^ a b Dunleavy, Hannah (2 October 2014). "Rhyme and Reason". Standardissuemagazine.com. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  10. ^ The Guardian: Poetry, breastfeeding and sex, by Emma Cook, 13 February 2016
  11. ^ O'Keeffe, Alice (17 June 2017). "The books interview: 'I always attracted mums and midwives. Now I get poetry lovers' Hollie McNish". The Guardian (Review section). London. p. 9. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Book review: Plum, by Hollie McNish". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Interview with Hollie McNish, poet and spoken word artist". Voice Magazine. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  14. ^ "Hollie McNish - LinkedIn Profile". LinkedIn. LinkedIn Corporation. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  15. ^ "The Poetry Café – The Poetry Society". poetrysociety.org.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  16. ^ "New release – Poetry versus Orchestra: Friday October 7 2016", Metropole Orkest. Accessed 23 January 2018
  17. ^ Presenter: Jane Garvey; Producer: Erin Riley (25 October 2016). "Felicity Kendal, Icelandic feminism, Clothes on TV, Hollie McNish". Woman's Hour. 26:20 minutes in. BBC. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  18. ^ "News Release - Arts Foundation Awards 2015" (PDF). Arts Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  19. ^ "Hollie McNish". YouTube. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  20. ^ "Our mission | Baby Milk Action". Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  21. ^ a b "PN Review". Hollie Poetry. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  22. ^ Flood, Alison; Cain, Sian (23 January 2018). "Poetry world split over polemic attacking 'amateur' work by 'young female poets'". the Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  23. ^ "Paapa Essiedu, Rebecca Watts and Don Paterson, A J Finn, Front Row - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  24. ^ Eden. "Emma Watson picks Rupi Kaur's 'Milk and Honey' for Our Shared Shelf". Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  25. ^ "Hollie McNish, Poet & Spoken Word Artist". Arts Award Voice. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  26. ^ "Shortlisted Artists of the Fellowships 2015", The Arts Foundation. Accessed 23 January 2018.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hollie_McNish&oldid=1211461935"