Angela Topping
Encyclopedia
Angela Topping is a British
poet
, literary critic and author. She has published three solo poetry collections, Dandelions for Mothers' Day (1988, 1989), The Fiddle (1999) and The Way We Came (2007).
Topping was born in Widnes
, Cheshire
to working class parents and educated in Liverpool
at Broughton Hall
Grammar School for Girls. After graduating from the University of Liverpool with a degree in English and Classical Civilization she went on to study for a postgraduate degree in Victorian Studies. Although writing from a young age (she first published poetry at the age of nineteen in Arts Alive Merseyside) Topping married and raised two daughters while writing her first two collections and editing two poetry anthologies, the first a collection of Christians writing and the second a festschrift
for the Liverpool-based poet Matt Simpson
, featuring works by U.A. Fanthorpe, Anne Stevenson
, Roger McGough
and Kenneth Muir
. The friendship of Matt Simpson was a formative influence on Topping's work and continued until his death in 2009.
After working in education for twenty years, most notably at Upton Hall School FCJ
, Topping now concentrates full-time on writing and has been the author of several critical works for Greenwich Exchange.
Critical Works:
Editor:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, literary critic and author. She has published three solo poetry collections, Dandelions for Mothers' Day (1988, 1989), The Fiddle (1999) and The Way We Came (2007).
Topping was born in Widnes
Widnes
Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
to working class parents and educated in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
at Broughton Hall
Broughton Hall
Broughton Hall is a Gothic house at Yew Tree Lane West Derby, Liverpool, England, built in 1860 for Gustavus C. Schaube, a Liverpool merchant originating from Hamburg...
Grammar School for Girls. After graduating from the University of Liverpool with a degree in English and Classical Civilization she went on to study for a postgraduate degree in Victorian Studies. Although writing from a young age (she first published poetry at the age of nineteen in Arts Alive Merseyside) Topping married and raised two daughters while writing her first two collections and editing two poetry anthologies, the first a collection of Christians writing and the second a festschrift
Festschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
for the Liverpool-based poet Matt Simpson
Matt Simpson
Matt Simpson was a British poet and literary critic. He published six full poetry collections, and after retiring from a senior lectureship in English at Liverpool Hope University, wrote numerous books of literary criticism until his death in 2009.Simpson was born in Bootle, Merseyside to a...
, featuring works by U.A. Fanthorpe, Anne Stevenson
Anne Stevenson
Anne Stevenson is an American-British poet and writer.-Life:Stevenson's parents Louise Destler Stevenson and C.L. Stevenson met at a Cincinnati High School. They were living in Cambridge, England, where Charles was studying philosophy under I. A. Richards and Wittgenstein, when their first...
, Roger McGough
Roger McGough
Roger Joseph McGough CBE is a well-known English performance poet. He presents the BBC Radio 4 programme Poetry Please and records voice-overs for commercials, as well as performing his own poetry regularly...
and Kenneth Muir
Kenneth Muir
Major Kenneth Muir VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
. The friendship of Matt Simpson was a formative influence on Topping's work and continued until his death in 2009.
After working in education for twenty years, most notably at Upton Hall School FCJ
Upton Hall School FCJ
Upton Hall School FCJ, is a single sex girls' Roman Catholic voluntary aided grammar school located in Merseyside, England. It is one of four Catholic schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, and was founded as a girls' convent school by Nuns of the Society of the Faithful Companions of Jesus...
, Topping now concentrates full-time on writing and has been the author of several critical works for Greenwich Exchange.
Publications
Solo Poetry Collections:- Dandelions for Mothers’ Day (Stride 1988 and 1989)
- The Fiddle: New and Selected Poems (Stride 1999)
- The Way We Came (Bluechrome 2007)
- The New Generation (Salt 2010) - Children's poetry
Critical Works:
- Focus on Spies by Michael FraynMichael FraynMichael J. Frayn is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce Noises Off and the dramas Copenhagen and Democracy...
(Greenwich Exchange 2008)
- Focus on The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela CarterAngela CarterAngela Carter was an English novelist and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picaresque works...
(Greenwich Exchange 2009)
- Focus on Selected Poems by John ClareJohn ClareJohn Clare was an English poet, born the son of a farm labourer who came to be known for his celebratory representations of the English countryside and his lamentation of its disruption. His poetry underwent a major re-evaluation in the late 20th century and he is often now considered to be among...
– Everyman Edition (in progress)
Editor:
- The Least Thing (Stride 1989) Foreword by George Szirtes
- Making Connections, A Festschrift for Matt Simpson (Stride 1996)
- Manchester Poets Competition Anthologies I & II
- Brando’s Hat editorial board