Poet, Plant Whisperer and passionate Singer-Songwriter: Jade Cuttle shares her journey to becoming a BBC New Generation Thinker
By: Communications
Jade Cuttle, a UEA Creative Writing Master’s graduate has been named one of this year's BBC New Generation Thinkers thanks to her work in nature poetry. Jade’s academic and creative pursuits have flourished in the last few years, including the release of her first album of nature-inspired poem-songs, ‘Algal Bloom’.
Jade, who is currently studying for her PhD at the University of Cambridge, is committed to exploring and redefining the connections between our environment and ourselves. Her work as a new generation thinker amplifies her voice in the academic and public spheres, where she champions the underrepresented voices of poets of colour.
As an Arts Commissioning Editor for The Times, Jade is committed to combining her artistic talent with her unique expertise in plant whispering and mudlarking.
We spoke to Jade about her experience of UEA and her ongoing quest to intertwine the essence of nature with the art of storytelling.
How was your time at UEA?
I enjoyed the sense of community between the writers and found the Master's in creative writing valuable for deepening appreciation and understanding of the craft.
The Poetics of Places module convened by Jos Smith was particularly influential in inspiring my academic journey into nature poetry. I also appreciated the opportunity to share my research as a guest speaker at UEA's inaugural Nature Writing and Decolonisation symposium in 2023.
How has your Masters impacted your career?
The Masters in Creative Writing at UEA prepared me well for a career in journalism, writing first for the Guardian and the Observer, before taking up the role of Arts Commissioning Editor at The Times. A grant from the UEA Entreprise Centre helped to professionalise my early portfolio.
Caption: Jade reads on stage at BBC Music Introducing
What does it mean to be named a New Generation Thinker?
I'm delighted to be named a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker 2024 and excited to start muddying BBC airwaves with my 'worms-eye view’ of nature poetry.
Applying my passion for metal detecting and mudlarking to the field of literature, I'm looking forward to investigating this poetic genre from the ground up - digging between the ‘dancing daffodils’ to unearth evidence of an overlooked tradition. This includes listening to the poets of colour whose books have represented until 2008 less than 1% of all published poetry in Britain.
I think the NGT scheme is a fantastic opportunity to bring academic research to a wider audience, and would encourage other early career researchers interested in developing their profile to apply.
Were you involved with any extra-curricular activities as a student at UEA?
Music was a big part of my extra-curricular life at UEA. I wrote and released my first album of nature-inspired poem-songs ‘Algal Bloom’ and enjoyed performing at local Norwich venues. I also began working on my series of Orchid Duets, a real-time dialogue with the music of orchids that was later commissioned by BBC Radio 3.
Do you have any longer-term goals?
I'm currently writing a non-fiction book called Silthood, a term I coined to explore ancient connections between soil and self. The book touches on my passions for metal detecting, mudlarking and medieval re-enacting as part of a larger project of linguistic innovation. Each chapter works towards a ‘mossary’; a subversive glossary of ecopoetic coinings.
I'm also writing a novel of historical fiction. The novel reimagines the forgotten Viking raids in Africa c. 859 CE inspired by my work as a professional historical reenactor; one of Britain's first female warriors of colour trained in sword, axe and spear combat. Other plans include developing StorySphere, my consulting agency for creative minds, drawing upon my mentoring experience.
Caption: A poem written by Jade during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Could you tell us a bit more about the workshops you have been carrying out recently?
I've been teaching Black British Nature Writing at the University of Sheffield, Creative Writing at the University of Arts Bournemouth, and leading botanical writing workshops at the Poetry School along with a six-week online course. My immersive workshops invite participants to step into the role of scientists, exploring the synthesis of symbolic poetic moments. We listen to the heartbeat of trees through stethoscopes and uncover a parallel poetic universe. One of these plant-whispering poetry workshops has been filmed for BBC One.
Could you provide a summary of your PhD research?
My AHRC-funded PhD research at the University of Cambridge focuses on the contemporary British poets of colour whose work engages with themes of nature, landscape, and place. I'm particularly interested in rethinking poetry as a trade of ideas and coinings as intellectual currency, or ‘scriptocurrency’ as I term it; interrogating their potential for gaining purchase in a historically exclusive genre.
As a poet writing into this space myself - my poems on mudlarking and metal detecting are published by Nine Arches Press this summer (Primers) - I have a personal investment in this subject. The PhD research is supervised by Robert Macfarlane ahead of the publication of Nature Matters: New Poetries by Black and Asian Writers of the Diaspora (Faber & Faber, 2025).
For more information on Jade's creative journey
Follow Jade on Twitter and Instagram @JadeCuttle