Blake Auden

Blake Auden
Born	16th October, 1983 (37) Manchester, England
Nationality	British
Citizenship	English
Occupation	Poet, Author
Website
www.blakeauden.com

Blake Auden (born October 16, 1983) is a British poet, author and Instagram celebrity with more than 170,000 followers. Blake’s work focuses on love, loss, heartbreak and mental health, most of his work is published via his Instagram account @blakeaudenpoetry.

Bibliography

Blake is the author of four poetry collections:

• Tell The Birds She’s Gone, 2019 (self-published)
• Beekeeper, 2020 (self-published)
• The Things We Leave Behind, 2021 (self-published)
• Murmuration, 2021 (Central Avenue Publishing)

Background

Blake Auden was born in Manchester, UK, and now lives in Brighton & Hove, on the south coast of England. Growing up with a father in the military, Blake began reading war poems from an early age, becoming fascinated with the ability of prose to capture complex emotions. Blake has talked extensively about his ongoing struggle with anxiety and mental health and covers these topics regularly in his work. [5]. Blake began uses poetry to help cope with stress and anxiety from an early age, trying to turn difficult emotions into something creative.

Career

Blake received a degree in Film & TV from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, before moving to Brighton. Here, Blake gained a degree in music from the University of Sussex, beginning his creative career writing songs and lyrics. Eventually, he moved into graphic design and illustration, before returning to writing in 2019. Blake began sharing his work on Instagram in February, 2019, publishing one new poem every day. As his following on the platform increased, he began publishing more than once a day. In July, 2019, Blake self-published his debut book of poetry, entitled Tell The Birds She’s Gone. The book sold out three print runs in its first year of release. In September 2020, Blake self-published his second collection, Beekeeper. The book sold out its first print run entirely in pre-orders, and saw his following grow considerably as people shared the book. In August, 2020, Blake was selected as the judge for UK national newspaper The Mirror’s ‘Mirror Poet’ competition, selecting two winners from entries across the United Kingdom. In late 2020, Blake was one of the winners of the Button Poetry Short Form Contest, with his poem White Knuckles. In November, 2020, Blake signed to Central Avenue Publishing in Canada, to release his third full collection, Murmuration, in October 2021. In January, 2021, Blake announced a new chapbook of poetry, The Things We Leave Behind. The book was written during the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on loss, mental health and the experience of being in lockdown. In February, 2021, Blake launched a newsletter project called Altar for the Hunted Things. It sends one personal essay per week to his subscribers, along with poems, interviews and features. [13]

Publications

Blake has been featured in multiple publications in both the United Kingdom and the USA. Notable features include Forbes, The Mirror, Metro’s Mentally Yours podcast, Quote Catalog, Authority Magazine, The Bookseller, HN Worth, People Who Sleep, Family Friend Poems, The Brighton and Hove Independent, Brighton Magazine and Wellbeing Magazine.

Influences

Blake has said his favourite writers are Ada Limon, Ocean Vuong and Malcolm Gladwell. He has also referenced the work of British musician Keaton Henson. Blake was also heavily influenced by war poetry as a child, which inspired him to use the medium as a way of expressing both traumatic and cathartic experiences. As a sufferer of anxiety, Blake is also influenced strongly by his struggles with mental health, covering the topic regularly in his poetry. [5] He has also spoken about the wolf tattooed on right hand, suggesting it is a symbol of his anxiety and a way to reframe his approach to mental illness.