Geraldine Paine was born and bred in London and now lives in rural Kent. In 2000 she was awarded an M.Phil in Writing by the University of South Wales (formerly Glamorgan). Since then her poems have appeared in many magazines including Agenda, The Rialto, THE SHOp, Envoi, Magma, London Grip and The Frogmore Papers. They have been commended, shortlisted or placed in several poetry competitions, including the Open Poetry International Sonnet Competition, The Basil Bunting Poetry Award, The Buzzwords Open Poetry Competition, the Canterbury Poet of the Year Competition, The Lord Whisky Poetry Competition and The Live Canon International Poetry Competition. Her poem Sunday Dad, with Gangsters was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize 2018. Her poems have been published in many anthologies, including most recently, Songs for the Unsung (Grey Hen Press, 2017) and the Live Canon Anthology 2018 (more below).
 
She has three collections, all published by Lapwing Publications (Belfast): The Go-Away-Bird (2008), The Beginnings of Trees (2013) and Disappearing Tracks, A Story in Verse (2016).
 
She is a founder member of Scatterlings, the poetry group.
 
Comments:
 
Disappearing Tracks:
 

James and Helena, and the intimidating, fascinating land where they travel and live, come alive in a way that is compelling and hard to forget. Geraldine Paine’s third collection of poetry is surely one of the most unusual and memorable to be published this year.

 

Sheenagh Pugh

 
 

…the book’s magic derives from the journey, not the story alone – as sweet, subtle and complex as the expedition through the desert was bitter and coarse, and all the more satisfying for its growth, power and endurance.

 

James Roderick Burns

 
 

It is a beautiful book, a work of family history that extends beyond the personal to explore themes that are important to us now: immigration, exploration, the ability to overcome difficulty, and of course the strength of love in surmounting all challenges.

 

Tamar Yoseloff

 
 

Paine achieves narrative pace, also a vividness derived from the effort she constantly makes to both write with descriptive immediacy and to create authentic expression for her period characters … such a rich page-turner…

 

Dilys Wood

 
 

The Beginnings of Trees:>
 

…densely suggestive and humane… a whole human world, filtered through a mind that is interested in all life’s pains, delights and accidents, and doing its best to understand.

 

Susan Wicks

 
 

…an assured poetic voice… a fine eye for sensual and visual detail… pinning serious emotions with accuracy and a lightness of touch.

 

Carole Satyamurti

 
 

 

The Go-Away Bird:
 

…her most characteristic voice: rich elegiac, yet more keenly aware of “now” than clinging to the “then”. She is fundamentally a rather life-affirming poet

 

Sheenagh Pugh

 
 

Amongst the anthologies in which Geraldine Paine’s work has appeared:
 
Live Canon 2018 Anthology, ISBN 978-1-9097033-6-0
Songs for the Unsung, 2014, Grey Hen Press, ISBN 978-0-9933756-4-4
Links in the Chain, Lacuna Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9954648-1-0
Tokens for the Foundlings, 2012, Seren, ISBN 978-1-8541158-1-2
Not Only the Dark, 2011, Wordaid, ISBN 978-1-9046621-5-0
Sixty Poems for Haiti, 2010, Cane Arrow Press, ISBN 978-0-9562901-3-7
Did I Tell You?, 2010, Wordaid, ISBN 978-1-9046621-1-2
Buzz, 2008, Templar Poetry, ISBN 978-1-9062852-6-5
Hand Luggage Only, 2008, Open Poetry, ISBN 978-0-9559162-0-5
Shape Sifting, 2007, Cinnamon Press, ISBN 978-1-9056145-1-6