JL Williams

Books by JL Williams include Condition of Fire (Shearsman, 2011), Locust and Marlin (Shearsman, 2014), House of the Tragic Poet (If A Leaf Falls Press, 2016), After Economy (Shearsman, 2017), Origin (Shearsman, 2022) and Strange Architectures (Shearsman, scheduled for 2026). Published widely in journals, her poetry has been translated into numerous languages. She has read at international literature festivals and venues in the UK, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Turkey, Cyprus, Canada, Hungary, Romania, Montenegro and the US. JL Williams has undertaken collaborations with artists, perfumers, mixologists, composers, choreographers and others, and is currently exploring how yoga, meditation and breath work can support creativity. She was a librettist for the award-winning 2020 covid-response Episodes project by The Opera Story and was commissioned to write the 2023 English Touring Opera children’s opera, The Wish Gatherer. Williams is Creative Projects Manager at the Edinburgh Futures Institute and curates Utopia Lab. She is hopeful about the simple and mysterious power of poetry that allows us to know ourselves, each other and the world more deeply.