Writing History
Jacqueline Gabbitas started writing poetry as a child but turned to prose when she went to comprehensive school because it felt like 'serious' writing. She continues to write short stories but focuses mainly on poetry.
During her A levels, she flirted with poetry but concentrated mainly on writing short stories. Her influences at this time were T S Eliot and the novels of Stevie Smith and Radcliffe Hall. During her late teens she spent a year in Houston, Texas, eating tortillas and writing a science fiction/fantasy novel that she's hidden somewhere so well concealed even she doesn't know where to find it.
She studied English and Film at Derby University, but it wasn't until she went to Sheffield Hallam University the following year that she was really encouraged to develop her poetry. Her tutor was the poet and playwright E A Markham who continued to teach her when she stayed on to take the MA in Writing.
Jacqueline moved to Edinburgh in 1996 and travelled once a week to Sheffield Hallam. In 1998, as part of the Sheffield Thursday Prize, she was awarded the Hallam Prize for Poetry. During this time she worked at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh where she took part in the exhibition Sale or Return.
Jacqueline moved to London that same year and became Listings Editor for Make Magazine to which she contributed a number of articles and reviews. She has also written introductions to the catalogues of two contemporary art exhibitions, Marek Wasilewski's solo show at Manhattan Galeria (1999) and Fields of Vision, a group show of eight London-based artists in Poland (2001).
In 1999 Jacqueline attended her first Poetry School workshop with Mimi Khalvati and Jane Duran. In 2003, she was chosen, alongside John Haynes, to participate in The Poetry School's Masterclass series. UA Fanthorpe led the masterclass. Jacqueline was also selected to be one of thirty poets published in the School's anthology, Entering the Tapestry, (Enitharmon, 2003).
Part of her enjoyment of poetry is in sharing it and in 2003 she joined the Writewords website and formed Poetry Group II and, later, the Poetry Seminar.
The following year, she was invited, with Anna Robinson and Jo Roach, to judge the poetry section of the Koestler Competition; took part in Big Arts Week, won 3rd prize in the Silver Wyvern competition as part of the Poetry on the Lake festival in Italy; and, in November 2004, returned to Sheffield Hallam University as a guest reader along with poets Mary MacRae and Robert Chandler as part of the Entering the Tapestry's National Book Tour.
In 2005 Jacqueline began Wathamstow Writing, a monthly poetry writing workshop; took part in Editors' Day at the Split the Lark Festival and also joined The Literary Consultancy. In October that year she took part in the TLC's first National Tour.
2006 is the Year of The Dog (Jacqueline was born in the Year of the Dog).