Black Cat Bone (poetry collection)

Black Cat Bone
AuthorJohn Burnside
LanguageEnglish
GenrePoetry
PublisherJonathan Cape
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Pages80
AwardsForward Prize for Best Poetry Collection; T. S. Eliot Prize
ISBN9780224093859
Preceded byThe Hunt in the Forest 
Followed byAll One Breath 

Black Cat Bone is a poetry collection by John Burnside, published in 2011 by Jonathan Cape.[1][2] It was the Scottish poet's 11th collection.[3]

According to Fiona Sampson writing in The Independent:

"Black Cat Bone distils its dreamscapes into four sections. The opening long poem, "The Fair Chase", is followed by "Everafter", an exploration of romantic love and its repeated disappointment; "Black Cat Bone", haunted by images of a murdered girl; and "Faith", a series of poems broadly concerned with keeping faith with the human condition".[4]

Black Cat Bone won the Forward Prize for Best Poetry Collection in 2011, a £10,000 award;[4][5] and the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2012, a £15,000 award.[6][7][8] As of 2023, Burnside was one of only three poets to have won both prizes for the same book.[9]

  1. ^ Thomas, M. Wynn (6 September 2011). "Black Cat Bone by John Burnside – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  2. ^ Griffin, Carl (20 October 2012). "Black Cat Bone by John Burnside". Wales Arts Review . Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  3. ^ Kennedy, Maev (16 January 2012). "John Burnside wins most controversial TS Eliot prize in decades". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Black Cat Bone, By John Burnside". The Independent. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  5. ^ "TS Eliot poetry prize win for John Burnside". BBC News. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  6. ^ "John Burnside wins the TS Eliot prize". The Telegraph. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Former drug addict wins prestigious poetry prize". The Independent. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  8. ^ Elmhirst, Sophie (16 January 2012). "John Burnside wins the T S Eliot prize". New Statesman. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  9. ^ Creamer, Ella (9 November 2023). "John Burnside wins the 2023 David Cohen prize for amazing body of work". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 November 2023.