Julie Irigaray
Writer. Teacher. Researcher.
Welcome to my website. As an author who lived in four different countries, I aim to create a better understanding of the world and our place in it — a mission which has cast me in many different roles: writer, teacher and researcher.
I am a Creative Writing Tutor and I earned a PhD in English Literature from The University of Huddersfield. You can find out about my publications, experience, research, awards, and more on this website.
What's New
Autumn 2023
I wrote a poem guide for The Poetry Foundation about Sylvia Plath’s “The Applicant”. If you love this poem, if you study it, or if you want to teach it, this guide is for you!
My poem "Poultry Anatomy" appeared in Magma's special food issue. It is also published online on the food blog Vittles.
My French translations of Alice Hiller's poems "libation" and "bird of winter"are published in the new issue of harana poetry.
I have been an admirer of Alice's phenomenal work for years, so translating her poems into French was an obvious choice, especially since we both share French heritage. Read more about Alice's work on her website.
I am teaching several courses at City Lit in 2023: Poetry: A Taster (23/09/2023), Poetry Workshop: Intensive (19/09/23 - 24/10/23), Storytelling: a workshop for writers (21/10/23), Writing the Body in Poetry (05/11/23) and Writing women's experiences in poetry (18/11/23).
Last but not least, I finally earned my PhD in English Literature from the University of Huddersfield.
I passed with no corrections. What a relief!
Whalers, Witches and Gauchos
My poetry pamphlet Whalers, Witches and Gauchos was published by Nine Pens Press last April.
Whalers, Witches and Gauchos explores narratives of displacement, the way we navigate between countries and cultures, and how where we come from makes us who we are. Using my Basque ancestors as a point of reference – these same whalers, witches and gauchos who travelled to the other side of the world or were persecuted – I conjure up my memories of living in the Basque Country, France, Ireland, Italy and the UK. This pamphlet depicts what it is to migrate between places and languages seeking homes that can both sustain us and allow us to grow.
