Samuel Tongue
He was born in Bath and grew up on a pig farm in South Wales. After completing an English degree and a Masters in Creative Writing at Exeter University, he ventured briefly into ministerial training for the Anglican Church in Wales. In 2008 he moved to Glasgow and began a Phd in Literature, Theology and the Arts. His research at Glasgow University focused on poetic retellings of ‘Jacob wrestling the angel’ (Genesis 32:22-32), analysing the life of biblical stories in contemporary culture.
His first pamphlet collection is Hauling-Out (Eyewear, 2016), with a further collection Stitch (Tapsalteerie, 2018) and his poems have featured in publications such as Envoi, Gutter, The Herald, Interpreter’s House, Magma, Northwords Now and The Scotsman, and the anthologies Be The First to Like This: New Scottish poetry and Best New British and Irish Poets 2016. He is also an editor of Tools of the Trade: poems for new doctors anthology (Scottish Poetry Library, 2019). He held the Callan Gordon Award as part of the Scottish Book Trust New Writers Awards 2013, and teaches Bible, Literature, and Culture at the University of Glasgow.