Caleb Parkin serves a hyperreal and surreal cocktail of queer ecopoetry. Expect creatures, chemicals and cruising; radioactive gardens, viral memes and fizzing meditations on this mixed-up world that looks and sometimes bites back.
Bristol City Poet 2020 – 22, he’s featured in The Guardian, was guest poet on BBC Radio 4’s Poetry Please and the Poem of the Week on Radio 3 Breakfast. His debut collection This Fruiting Body (Nine Arches, 2021) was longlisted for the Laurel Prize. He’s published three pamphlets, including collected City Poet commissions, All the Cancelled Parties (2022). His second collection, Mingle (Nine Arches, October 2024) investigates toxicity, intoxication, and toxified ideals.
Caleb has featured at festivals including Poetry in Aldeburgh, Lyra Fest, Push the Boat Oat, Green Man and, of course, Shambala. He tutors widely and holds an MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes. From 2023 – 2026, he is a practice-based PhD researcher at University of Exeter with RENEW Biodiversity, exploring human/nonhuman communication and creaturely voices in contemporary ecopoetry.