Sally Read
Sally Read (born 1971) is an English poet and writer and former psychiatric nurse.[1]
Early life and education
Sally Read was born in 1971 in Suffolk[2] and attended Tavistock Comprehensive School. She received a BA from Open University and then an MA from the University of South Dakota.[3]
Work and awards
Read shared the Eric Gregory Award in 2001.[4] Her first collection, The Point of Splitting, was shortlisted for the Jerwood-Aldeburgh First Collection prize. A selection of her works, Punto di Rottura, is also available in Italian.[5] Her poems have been anthologized in numerous volumes, including "Roddy Lumsden's Identity Parade [6] and Forward's Poems of the Decade.[7] Read's first collection of poetry since her conversion, Dawn of this Hunger took first place for poetry at the Catholic Media Association Awards in 2022.[8] She has also written for the Times Literary Supplement, The Catholic Herald, The Tablet, The Humanum Review and Magnificat among other periodicals and papers. Read has also published two memoirs: Night's Bright Darkness (2016) (see below) and The Mary Pages (2024), which was awarded best biography in the 2025 Association of Catholic Publishers awards.[9] Read's book Annunciation was the subject of a short film [10] for EWTNGB by Norman Servais and Kevin Turley. She is editor of Word on Fire's 100 Great Catholic Poems (Nov 2023)
Religious and personal life
A lifelong atheist, Read converted to Catholicism in 2010.[11][12] She wrote a book about her conversion experience, Night's Bright Darkness.[13]
Read was poet in residence from 2011-2021 at The Hermitage of the Three Holy Hierarchs, which is an eparchial-rite form of consecrated life under the jurisdiction of Bishop Bryan Bayda, the Eparch of Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon.[14] Fr. Gregory Hrynkiw, of the group, played a role in her conversion. Read's role in the hermitage continues, as a member.
Read lives with her husband and daughter (Celia Florence, to whom her book “Annunciation: A Call to Faith in a Broken World” is dedicated) in Santa Marinella.[14]
Works
- The Point of Splitting (Bloodaxe Books, 2005)
- Broken Sleep (Bloodaxe Books, 2009)
- The Day Hospital (Bloodaxe Books, 2012)
- Night's Bright Darkness: A Modern Conversion Story (Ignatius Press, 2016) (Translated into Polish, Slovenian, Slovakian and Czech)
- Annunciation: A Call to Faith in a Broken World (Ignatius Press, 2019)
- Dawn of this Hunger (Angelico Press, Second Spring, 2021)
- 100 Great Catholic Poems (Word on Fire, November 2023), edited and commentary by Read
- The Mary Pages (Word on Fire, 2024)
References
- Back to citation Chohan, Rhia (8 September 2009). "Poets Give Chapter and Verse on Caring". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
- Back to citation Interview in City Desert
- Back to citation Bloodaxe Books Author Page Archived 20 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- Back to citation "Society of Authors page on past winners of the Eric Gregory Trust Fund Awards". Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
- Back to citation Birmingham City University
- Back to citation "Identity Parade" (Bloodaxe, 2012)
- Back to citation "Poems of the Decade" (Forward 2011)
- Back to citation "2022 CMA Book Awards" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 June 2023.
- Back to citation The Mary Pages forthcoming from Word on Fire.
- Back to citation "Annunciation, a Call to Faith in a Broken World". YouTube. 5 February 2022.
- Back to citation ABC.Net Emotions and Beliefs
- Back to citation Catholic News Agency
- Back to citation Romanowsky, Zoe (12 November 2016). "Former Atheist Psychiatric Nurse Now Calls Herself 'Eucharistic'". Aleteia. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
- Back to citation occurrence 14.0 Back to citation occurrence 14.1 "About Us". The Asketerion: The Journal of the Hermitage of the Three Holy Hierarchs. 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2016.