Rebecca Sharp is a writer and interdisciplinary artist whose work encompasses poetry, plays and performance; spoken-word, installation, and print; collaborative and participatory projects – stemming from a core belief in the transformative power of creative practice. In 2020 she received a Literature Matters Award from the Royal Society of Literature to write her poetry pamphlet collection Rough Currency (Tapsalteerie), exploring various entanglements with fossil fuels and the oil economy.
Rebecca has been involved with the research centre since its launch in 2021. Her powerful poetry on oil, climate and imaginative life received second prize in the CEE’s inaugural Art of Energy exhibition, featured centrally in a poetry event held at the Byre Theatre in the lead-up to COP26, and inspired a public workshop on how poetry can empower positive change.
In September 2022, Rebecca began her residency with the Centre for Energy Ethics which concluded in May 2024.
Hera’s tears
Poem, one of a series by Rebecca Sharp called The Sprigs.
Created to accompany paintings by Kirsty Lorenz
for her exhibition Recipe for a Miracle, which took place at Gracefield Arts in Dumfries, 2022.
The poems draw from medieval herbal recipes (here, the Recipe for Everlasting Life): plant names, uses and lore.
Back in 2024, inaugural CEE Artist-in-Residence Rebecca Sharp launched her new writing group. This group meets regularly in a Victorian B-listed former Station House in Ladybank, Fife from which it took its name - 'Off the Rails'. With Rebecca's guidance, participants...
I never stop enjoying the fact that the etymological root of the word radical is the Latin radicalis: of the roots, regarding roots; from radix, meaning root. A large part of my practice as a writer is rooted in my interest in grassroots creative practice; in the...
Long Field Loop launched at the end of May 2024 at the Byre Theatre in St Andrews (and online). There will also be ePub and audio versions of the collection available in due course, with Tapsalteerie. Since the collection launched in May, I have also launched into a...
This is part two of a two-part reflection on Rebecca’s Writing Transformation workshop. You can find part one here. If this inspires you, Rebecca will be running the workshop again – with a new part added – for St Andrews students, on Friday 10th November, 5-8pm at St...
‘A Map of Consciousness’ – Ram Dass LSR Foundation “You and I are the force for transformation in the world. We are the consciousness that will define the nature of the reality we are moving into.” - Ram Dass This two-part post reflects on Rebecca’s Writing...
It’s Spring. Where I live in Fife, I’ve loved seeing the snowdrops appear – every year, a welcome portent of things to come. So tiny and bright, the first signs of life returning. Usually, when they first appear in late January or early February, there’s more weather...
Join our Artist-in-Residence for a 2-hour poetry workshop at the Byre Theatre. Places are limited so book now!
I was asked to write something for the University’s online annual Burns Night on 25 January, responding to Burns’ views on environmental issues. You can watch my filmed reading again here, with my notes below – on how I approached the invitation, and of course, the poem that came out of it.
I’ve been developing a new sequence that I’m calling ‘solar panel’ poems. They are / will be semi-concrete (visual) in style, each taking the same square-ish (solar panel) form. The sequence may end up being called Attractors.
The Centre for Energy Ethics invites donations to the University’s Hardship Appeal for St Andrews students and staff affected by the war in Ukraine. Assisting with accommodation, living expenses and other incidentals faced in the months ahead, the Fund aims to provide peace of mind that St Andrews will remain a safe and supportive haven for anyone directly affected by the war.