Her Birth

Rebecca Goss is a poet, tutor and mentor living in Suffolk. Her first full-length collection, The Anatomy of Structures, was published by Flambard Press in 2010. Her second collection, Her Birth (Carcanet/Northern House, 2013), was shortlisted for the 2013 Forward Prize for Best Collection, won the Poetry category in the East Anglian Book Awards 2013, and in 2015 was shortlisted for the Warwick Prize for Writing and the Portico Prize for Literature. In 2014, Rebecca was selected for the Poetry Book Society’s Next Generation Poets. Her second pamphlet Carousel, a collaboration with the photographer Chris Routledge, was published by Guillemot Press in 2018. Rebecca’s third full-length collection, Girl, was published with Carcanet/Northern House in 2019 and shortlisted for the East Anglian Book Awards 2019. Her fourth collection, Latch, was published with Carcanet in 2023 and longlisted for the New Angle Prize 2025. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Cardiff University and a PhD by Publication from the University of East Anglia. Rebecca has worked for the Royal Literary Fund (RLF) since 2020. She was a Fellow at Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge 2020-22 and at the University of Suffolk 2022-23. She is now an Associate Fellow, contributing to the RLF's workplace and community projects. Author photo by Natalie J Watts.

• EchoFetal HeartRoom in a HospitalSkin-to-SkinToastClinicEchoPalliativeA Dream of Heart BabiesI Sweat When ISwingsWard at NightSevere Ebstein’s AnomalyA Child Dies in LiverpoolPostSt Mary’sHer BirthMiningThe PostmistressHoneyStretch MarksThe HighchairPrintMiningYou’re Lucky You Can Dream About HerOctoberMuscovado SugarMy Neighbour’s Himalayan BirchThe 21st of MarchMothers of the DeadFoundHelplineThe LightsSunday PapersGrief Goes JoggingPeeing at the OdeonRepairAnotherWelcomeWhy We Had Another BabyTestHyperemesis GravidarumAs Owls DoClothesWelcomeShadowsMy AnimalLostBenchTelling the TaleIn Memory of John Ernest Goss 1920–2011SnailMoonTaking You ThereLast PoemAcknowledgements

'The pieces form a narrative sequence that are variously painful, jealous, hopeful, and tender ... This fine balancing act between emotional and cathartic resulted in the collection being nominated for the 2013 Forward Prize for Best Collection of Poetry. Yet beyond any industry accolades, Her Birth is all about feeling and the grace to accept and move on with life'Susan Darlington, Spectrum Culture