Carol Rumens was born in Forest Hill, South London. She won a scholarship to Manchester grammar school and later studied Philosophy at London University, but left before completing her degree. She gained a Postgraduate Diploma in Writing for the Stage (with Distinction) from City College Manchester in 2002.

She taught at University of Kent at Canterbury (1983–85), Queen's University Belfast (1991–93 and 1995–98), University College Cork (1994), University of Stockholm (1999), and University of Hull.^[1] As visiting Professor of Creative Writing, she has taught at the University of Wales, Bangor,^[2] and later at the University of Hull.^{[citation needed]}

Rumens was Poetry Editor for the publisher Quarto (1982–84) and the literary Review (1984–88). Her work has appeared in The Guardian^[3] and Harper's.^[4] She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1984.^[5]

• 1984: Alice Hunt Bartlett Award (joint winner), forUnplayed Music
• 1981: New Statesman Prudence Farmer Award, for An Easter Garland
• 1984: [Cholmondeley Award]
• 1998: Belfast Arts Award for Literature (shortlist), for Holding Pattern
• 1998: Forward Poetry Prize (Best Single Poem) (shortlisted for "A Day in the Life of Farmer Dream")
• 2001: Cardiff International Poetry Competition (Fourth Prize, for "Kings of the Playground")
• 2001: National Poetry Competition ("Stay in Touch")
• 2002: Forward Poetry Prize (Best Single Poem) (shortlist)

Poetry edit

• "Girl, Got; Direct Train; December in Chapultepec Park, Mexico City; Dotage". Acorn 15. Archived from the original on 18 May 2008.
• A Strange Girl in Bright Colours. Quartet. 1973.
• A Necklace of Mirrors Ulsterman, 1978
• Unplayed Music. Secker & Warburg. 1981.
• Scenes from the Gingerbread House. Bloodaxe. 1982. ISBN 978-0-906427-27-9.
• Star Whisper. Secker & Warburg. 1983. ISBN 978-0-436-43901-8.
• Direct Dialling. Chatto & Windus. 1985. ISBN 978-0-7011-2911-8.
• Icon Waves The Star Wheel Press, 1986
• Selected Poems. Chatto & Windus. 1987. ISBN 978-0-7011-3201-9.
• The Greening of the Snow Beach. Bloodaxe. 1988. ISBN 978-1-85224-062-2.
• From Berlin to Heaven. Chatto & Windus. 1989.
• Thinking of Skins: New and Selected Poems. Bloodaxe. 1993. ISBN 978-1-85224-280-0.
• Best China Sky. Bloodaxe. 1995. ISBN 978-1-85224-337-1.
• The Miracle Diet. Bloodaxe. 1997. ISBN 978-1-85224-418-7.
• Holding Pattern. Blackstaff Press. 1998. ISBN 978-0-85640-638-6.
• Hex. Bloodaxe. 2002. ISBN 978-1-85224-602-0.
• Selected Poems 1968-2004. Bloodaxe. 2004. ISBN 978-1-85224-680-8.
• Blind Spots. Seren. 2008. ISBN 978-1-85411-465-5.
• De Chirico's Threads. Seren. 2010. ISBN 978-1-85411-534-8.
• The Emigree

Novels edit

• Plato Park. Chatto & Windus. 1987. ISBN 978-0-7011-3202-6.

Editor edit

• Making for the Open: The Chatto Book of Post-Feminist Poetry 1964-1984. Chatto & Windus. 1985. ISBN 978-0-7011-2848-7.
• Slipping Glimpses: Winter Poetry Supplement (editor), Poetry Book Society, 1985
• New Women Poets. Bloodaxe. 1990. ISBN 978-1-85224-145-2.
• Two Women Dancing: New and Selected Poems of Elizabeth Bartlett (editor), Bloodaxe, 1995
• Old City, New Rumours: A Hull Anthology (editor Five Leaves Press, 2010

Plays edit

• Nearly Siberia (Pascal Theatre Company, Newcastle and London, 1989)
• The Freak of the Week Show (EyeSpy Theatre Company, East Didsbury Studio, Manchester, 2001)
• Suzanne Hecabe (Arden School of Theatre, Manchester, 2002).

Translations edit

• Pencil Letter /Irina Ratushinskaya (translator), Bloodaxe, 1988
• The Poetry of Perestroika. Translator Carol Rumens, Richard McKane. Iron Press. 1990. ISBN 978-0-906228-35-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
• After Pushkin (contributor), Carcanet, 2000 with Yuri Drobyshev
• Yevgenii Rein: Selected Poems (translator), Bloodaxe, 2001

Non-fiction edit

• Self into Song: Newcastle/Bloodaxe Poetry Lectures, Bloodaxe, 2006
• Carol Rumens (21 January 2009). "Elizabeth Alexander's praise poem was way too prosy". The Guardian. London.
• Carol Rumens (15 December 2008). "Poem of the week: Darling, Would You Please Pick Up Those Books?". The Guardian. London.
• Carol Rumens (23 August 1992). "BOOKS / Poetry: Carol Rumens on two exciting new collections". The Independent. London.
• Writing Poetry. Routledge. 2002. ISBN 978-0-415-30389-7.

• "Carol Rumens", doollee
• "Poem of the week: Christmas at Sea by Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Louis Stevenson telescopes the distance between a cosy Christmas scene and a life-and-death struggle on the high seas", Carol Rumens, The Guardian, 24 December 2012