JANE Austen’s House Museum has appointed a Poet in Residence.

From August, poet Maura Dooley will be working with the museum on a number of writing related projects.

Maura, who teaches at Goldsmiths College, University of London and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, has published a number of collections of poetry including her most recent book Life Under Water.

She has also edited a number of anthologies of verse and essays including The Honey Gatherers: Love Poems and How Novelists Work. Maura has twice been short-listed for the T.S.Eliot Award.

Maura said: “I am really delighted and feel truly honoured to become the Poet-in-Residence at Jane Austen’s House Museum. Many people may ask ‘Why a poet-in-residence at the home of such a novelist?’ but Jane Austen wrote poems herself, often mentions the poets of her day in her letters and in the novels gives her characters keen opinions of poetry. 

“In Mansfield Park Fanny looks out at the starlit night and remarks: 'Here's what may leave all painting and all music behind, and what poetry only can attempt to describe!'. I will do my best to make that attempt!”

Annalie Talent, education officer, said: “Maura brings a wealth of experience as a published poet and tutor to the museum.

“She will spend about a day a week at the museum throughout the coming months and will organise workshops, readings and other poetry inspired activity while also working on her own poetry.”

The museum ran a successful writer in residence programme with novelist Rebecca Smith in 2009-10 and has continued to host workshops and other writing activities introduced during that residency.

Jane Austen’s House Museum is this year celebrating the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mansfield Park Austen’s first book to have been written entirely at Chawton.

The residency will give students and writers, published and unpublished, the opportunity to respond to the house and village where Jane lived and worked.

The residency is funded by a grant from Arts Council England.