28-455: Robin Robertson FRSL (born in 1955) is a Scottish poet. Selkie (Written in memory of Michael Donaghy ) "I'm not stopping," he said, shrugging off his skin like a wet-suit, then stretching it on the bodhran 's frame, "let's play." And he played till dawn: all the jigs and reels he knew, before he stood and drained the last from his glass, slipped back in to
56-556: A formal geographical area of responsibility, and being known as "area bishops": the Bishop of Ramsbury had oversight of the diocese's parishes in Wiltshire, while the Bishop of Sherborne had oversight of the parishes in Dorset. This scheme was replaced to reflect the increased working across the whole diocese by all three bishops. The two suffragans may now legally function anywhere in the diocese, and
84-527: A series of major new initiatives and 60 new appointments championing the great diversity of writing and writers in the UK". Initiatives included RSL Open (electing new Fellows from communities, backgrounds and experiences currently under-represented in UK literary culture), RSL International Writers (recognising the contribution of writers across the globe to literature in English) and Sky Arts RSL Writers Awards. In 2021,
112-531: A significant contribution to the advancement of literature, including publishers, agents, librarians, booksellers or producers, or who have rendered special service to the RSL. Paid membership is open to all and offers a variety of benefits. The society publishes an annual magazine, The Royal Society of Literature Review , and administers a number of literary prizes and awards, including the RSL Ondaatje Prize ,
140-673: Is the ordinary of the Church of England 's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury . The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset . The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary . The current bishop is Stephen Lake . The Diocese of Sherborne (founded c. AD 705 ) was the origin of
168-555: The London Review of Books and The New York Review of Books , and is represented in many anthologies. In 2004, he edited Mortification: Writers' Stories of Their Public Shame , which collects seventy commissioned pieces by international authors. In 2006 he published The Deleted World , a new version of the Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer , and in 2008 a new translation of Medea , which has been dramatised for stage and radio. Robertson
196-457: The Benson Medal for lifetime service in the field of literature . The RSL runs a membership programme offering a variety of events to members and the general public. Membership of the RSL is open to all. The RSL also runs an outreach programme, currently for young people and those in prison. The RSL administers two annual prizes, two awards, and two honours. Through its prize programmes,
224-474: The Church of England led to the annexation of Dorset from the abolished diocese of Bristol in 1836; Berkshire , however, was removed the same year and given to Oxford . In 1925 and 1974, new suffragan bishops were appointed to assist the Bishop of Salisbury; the new offices were titled the bishops of Sherborne and Ramsbury , respectively. Until 2009 the bishops operated under an episcopal area scheme established in 1981, with each suffragan bishop having
252-518: The E. M. Forster Award from The American Academy of Arts and Letters . In 2009 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature He completed the set of Forward Prizes in 2009 when "At Roane Head" won the award for Best Single Poem. This poem is included in his fourth collection, The Wrecking Light (2010), a volume shortlisted for the 2010 Forward Prize , the Costa Poetry Award and
280-467: The T. S. Eliot Prize . In 2013 he was honourably awarded the international, German Petrarca-Preis , sharing it with Adonis . In 2013, his book Hill of Doors was shortlisted for the 2013 Costa Book Awards (Poetry). His narrative poem, The Long Take , won the Goldsmiths Prize for innovative fiction. In 2019 it won him the 10th Walter Scott Prize , making him the first Scot and first poet to win
308-407: The 1220s to New Sarum (modern Salisbury ). This was chartered as the city of New Sarum by King Henry III in 1227, but it was not until the 14th century that the office was described (by Bishop Wyvil ) as the bishop of Sarum ( episcopus Sarum ). The diocese, like the city, is now known as Salisbury. The archdeaconry around Salisbury, however, retains the name of Sarum. Reforms within
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#1732855896183336-557: The RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction, the RSL Encore Award for best second novel of the year and the V. S. Pritchett Memorial Prize for short stories. In 2000, the RSL published a volume that provides a description and history of the society, written by one of its fellows, Isabel Quigly . In 2020, the RSL celebrated its 200th anniversary with the announcement of RSL 200, "a five-year festival launched with
364-542: The RSL Council responsible for its direction and management, being drawn from the Fellowship. As an independent charity, the RSL receives no regular public or government funding, relying on the support of its Members, Patrons, Fellows and friends to continue its work. The RSL has about 600 Fellows, elected from among the best writers in any genre currently at work. Additionally, Honorary Fellows are chosen from those who have made
392-1031: The RSL launched "Literature Matters: Reading Together", a project aiming to make recreational reading accessible to young people across the UK. The society maintains its current level of about 600 Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature : generally 14 new fellows are elected annually, who are accorded the privilege of using the post-nominal letters FRSL. Past and present fellows include Samuel Taylor Coleridge , J. R. R. Tolkien , W. B. Yeats , Rudyard Kipling , Thomas Hardy , George Bernard Shaw , Arthur Koestler , Chinua Achebe , Ruth Prawer Jhabvala , Robert Ardrey , Sybille Bedford , Muriel Spark , P. J. Kavanagh , Hilary Mantel , and Sir Roger Scruton . Present Fellows include Margaret Atwood , Bernardine Evaristo , David Hare , Kazuo Ishiguro , Andrew Motion , Paul Muldoon , Zadie Smith , Nadeem Aslam , Sarah Waters , Geoffrey Ashe , J. K. Rowling , and Nick Cave . A newly created fellow inscribes his or her name on
420-473: The RSL roll book. The RSL's 2022–23 Open initiative aimed to recognise writers from backgrounds currently underrepresented in UK literary culture by electing 60 fellows over a two-year period from communities, backgrounds and experiences currently under-represented in UK literary culture, through drawing on a broad range of writers from "different parts of the UK, from different communities, different demographics", as Bernardine Evaristo noted. The * before
448-422: The RSL supports new and established contemporary writers. The Council of the Royal Society of Literature is central to the election of new fellows, and directs the RSL's activities through its monthly meetings. Council members serve for a fixed term of four years, with new members being elected by Council when members retire. The Royal Society of Literature comprises more than 600 Fellows, who are entitled to use
476-517: The Sherborne chapter elected Herman , Bishop of Ramsbury to be also Bishop of Sherborne. Following the Norman Conquest , the 1075 Council of London united his two sees as a single diocese and translated them to the then-larger settlement around the royal castle at Old Sarum . Disputes between Bishops Herbert and Richard Poore and the sheriffs of Wiltshire led to the removal of the see in
504-404: The award. It was shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize . In 2019 he was a contributor to A New Divan: A Lyrical Dialogue Between East and West ( Gingko Library). Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature ( RSL ) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents
532-481: The name denotes an Honorary Fellow. The list is online at the RSL website. The RSL International Writers programme is a new life-long honour and award recognizing the contribution of writers across the globe to literature in English, and the power of literature to transcend borders in bringing people together, the inaugural list of recipients being announced in 2021. Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury
560-548: The post-nominal letters FRSL . New fellows of the Royal Society of Literature are elected by its current fellows. To be nominated for fellowship, a writer must have published two works of literary merit, and nominations must be seconded by an RSL fellow. All nominations are presented to members of the Council of the Royal Society of Literature, who vote biannually to elect new fellows. Nominated candidates who have not been successful are reconsidered at every election for three years from
588-521: The present diocese; St Aldhelm was its first bishop. In about 705 the vast diocese of Wessex at Winchester was divided in two with the creation of a new diocese of Sherborne under Bishop Aldhelm, covering Devon , Somerset and Dorset . Cornwall was added to the diocese at the end of the ninth century, but in about 909 the diocese was divided in three with the creation of the bishoprics of Wells , covering Somerset, and Crediton , covering Devon and Cornwall, leaving Sherborne with Dorset. In 1058,
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#1732855896183616-525: The seal-skin, into a new day, saluting us with that famous grin: "That's me away." "Selkie" from Swithering (Picador, 2006) Robertson was brought up on the north-east coast of Scotland, but has spent most of his professional life in London. After working as an editor at Penguin Books and Secker and Warburg , he became poetry and fiction editor at Jonathan Cape . Robertson's poetry appears regularly in
644-428: The society's official roll using either Byron's pen, T. S. Eliot 's fountain pen , which replaced Dickens 's quill in 2013, or (as of 2018) George Eliot 's pen, with pens belonging to Jean Rhys and Andrea Levy being additional choices from 2020. From time to time, the RSL confers the honour and title of Companion of Literature to writers of particular note. Additionally, the RSL can bestow its award of
672-432: The voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elected from among the best writers in any genre currently at work. Additionally, Honorary Fellows are chosen from those who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of literature, including publishers, agents, librarians, booksellers or producers. The society is a cultural tenant at London's Somerset House . The Royal Society of Literature (RSL)
700-522: The year in which they were proposed. Newly elected fellows are introduced at the Society's AGM and summer party. While the President reads a citation for each, they are invited to sign their names in the roll book which dates back to 1820, using either T. S. Eliot 's fountain pen or Byron 's pen. In 2013, Charles Dickens ' quill was retired and replaced with Eliot's fountain pen, and in 2018 George Eliot 's pen
728-689: Was a trustee of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry (and is now a trustee emeritus). Robertson's first volume of poetry, A Painted Field , won the 1997 Forward Prize for Best First Collection and the Scottish First Book of the Year Award. Slow Air followed in 2002, and his third book, Swithering , was published in 2006, winning the Forward Prize for Best Collection. In 2004, Robertson received
756-447: Was founded in 1820, with the patronage of George IV , to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent", and its first president was Thomas Burgess , Bishop of St David's (who was later translated as Bishop of Salisbury ). As of 2018, the RSL's patron is Queen Camilla , who took over in the role from Elizabeth II . At the heart of the RSL is its Fellowship, "which encompasses the most distinguished writers working today", with
784-404: Was offered as a choice, the first time in the RSL's history that a pen that belonged to a woman writer was an option. In 2018, the RSL honoured the achievements of Britain's younger writers through the initiative "40 Under 40", which saw the election of 40 new fellows aged under 40. In 2020, pens belonging to Andrea Levy and Jean Rhys were added to the choices offered to fellows for signing
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