Elizabeth Burns (poet)


Elizabeth Burns was a poet and creative writing teacher. She was born on 17 December 1957, in Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire. Her mother Muriel was from Bristol and her father, David Grieve Burns from Kirkcaldy.

Early life and education

Burns spent her early life in Scotland, educated at Corstorphine Primary School and Craigmount High in Edinburgh. In her twenties, she was a leading member of the First of May Bookshop collective in Edinburgh as well as an early member of the Pomegranate women's writing group.
She spent much of her later life in Lancaster, teaching and writing, and died in August 2015 aged 57.

Poetry

The central themes of Elizabeth Burn's work are around 'making what was invisible, visible through words and images' often delicately poised moments of home life, music, literature and art.
She published five collections of poetry as well as several pamphlets and often collaborated with other artists - potters, weaver and painters. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies.

Spiral

In 2015, one of her poems, Spiral, which is inspired by the motion of a potter's wheel, was reproduced on a 25 x 8 metre banner on the Royal Mile Edinburgh to mark National Poetry Day.
The poem appears in the latest collection of her poems Lightkeepers, published in 2016 by Wayleave Press and compiled after her death by friends and fellow poets, Gerrie Fellows and Jane Routh.

Published work