The Centre for Modern Poetry is home to an energized cohort of postgraduate students and welcomes many new students every year as those coming to the end of their study go onto start PhDs, or, having completed doctorates, academic jobs and other careers.

Masters students working within the Centre follow the modern poetry strand of the MA in English and American Literature. This consists of the modules EN871: Men and Women: Modernist Poetry and EN872: Provocations and Invitations: Poetry After the Second World War, and can often lead to a dissertation, and subsequent PhD, in the field.

New PhD students join an active research environment of current postgraduates and academics all involved in an exciting atmosphere of discussion, dissemination and collaboration. Prospective PhD students can see the kinds of research going on at the Centre, and seek out prospective supervisors, by looking here, but here’s a taste of what the current cohort of doctoral students, whom you could join, think of working under the auspices of the Centre:

“The Centre for Modern Poetry is a lively, outstanding research environment, academically and socially, providing new perspectives, challenging expectations and a wealth of ideas for reading from engaging supervisions, reinforced with stimulating comments on written work at each stage.  The Review structure increased my confidence and the whole research experience was enriched by extensive Library and IT facilities and fascinating weekly Research Seminars combined with a variety of poetry events including well-known speakers on current controversies. I enjoyed it immensely and look forward to my next step, a PhD.” (Rosemary Walters)

“The Centre for Modern Poetry is a vital part of the dynamic intellectual and creative community at Kent. It offers the chance to exchange ideas with established and emerging writers and scholars. It has been formative in my poetry and scholarship.” (Nancy Gaffield, PhD Poetry: Text, Practice as Research, 2014)

(Juha Virtanen)

“The Centre for Modern Poetry has possibly been the best thing in a lot of great things about studying at Kent – it turned what can often be a solitary experience of writing a PhD into a time when I felt I was involved in a dynamic and enthused community that supported, respected and challenged each other and our work. Over the years it’s offered many opportunities for collaborative projects and friendships as well as frequent and diverse reading groups, conferences and events within the community. For many years now it has been the emotional and social, as well as professional, centre of my life at Kent.” (Kat Peddie)