The Pretense of Understanding

Beth Davies’ debut New Poets Prize-winning pamphlet The Presence of Understanding is now available to preorder or order! from the Smith|Doorstop bookshop. One of four winning collections it will launch on Sunday 28th May at Sheaf Poetry Festival in Sheffield.

Anthony Anaxagorou said of Beth’s collection, The Pretense of Understanding – A beautifully strange and encoded book. I was particularly drawn to the tensions made between a place and a self – the longing to connect while remaining cautious as to what that connection asked for.

Beth Davies (she/her) is an emerging poet based in Sheffield. Her poetry has been published in Poetry Wales, Atrium, Rust + Moth, and Pulp Poets Press, as well as in anthologies such as Candlestick Press’ Ten Poems about Flowers and Valley Press’ Verse Matters. She won second place in the 2021 Dead Cat Poetry Prize and in the 2022 Magdalena Young Poets Prize. In addition to being a member of Hive Poetry Collective, Beth is a graduate of The Writing Squad, Durham University Slam Team, and Sheffield Young Writers.