About Me
I live in Gloucestershire, England. My long poem for voices Fool's Paradise won the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition award for best poetry ebook 2013. My collection Owl Unbound was published by Indigo Dreams Publishing in October 2020 and Fool’s Paradise was published as a print book by Black Eyes Publishing in 2022.
I have been widely published in print and online magazines. My poems have appeared in a number of anthologies, including Wagtail: The Roma Women’s Poetry Anthology (Butcher’s Dog) and Contemporary Surrealist and Magic Realist Poetry (Lamar University Press).
I am a director of the Cheltenham Poetry Festival, leading on the Festival’s year-round online programme. I have given readings at many poetry events, both online and in-person. For details see below.
Reviews
Sometimes a poetry book crosses your desk that you know instantly is very special. You don’t have to read very much of Fool’s Paradise... to recognise that this is a remarkable book written by a highly-skilled poet totally at ease with her craft... This is a profound, complex and expertly written poem that engages with personal, political and spiritual issues that have enduring relevance.
Nigel Kent
Don’t let the insouciant wit of Zoe Brooks’s title kid you. Fool’s Paradise is a dive into the uncanny: into that rich heritage of myth in which we find ourselves both far from home, and simultaneously at home. Brooks combines layers of folk cultural allusion with a clear and forceful language. The result is a dark parable, one of whose messages – like that of Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage – is that life is perpetual journeying.
Fiona Sampson
A disturbing yet deeply thought-provoking read, written with succinct perspicacity. The voices in this poem deserve to be heard.
Jackie Law - Never Imitate
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Owl Unbound contains many poems which depict rural life and are reminiscent of the country ways of my own childhood. However, Brooks’ images are so beautifully observed that her language makes the unfamiliar relatable and will resonate with readers from any background....These poems enable the reader to reach through time to touch people, places and moments depicted with heart and tenderness.
Vic Pickup
Robert Frost described poetry as ‘a way of taking life by the throat’, and the fearless, vivid and immensely lyrical poems in Owl Unbound do just that. A masterful collection of poems by an extraordinary poet.
Anna Saunders
My word Owl Unbound is a powerful collection of beautifully wrought, timeless, moving poems... I finished Owl Unbound feeling that Zoe Brooks had shared a little piece of her soul with me, but that in return she’s stolen a bit of my own. This is a remarkable collection and I feel privileged to have read it.
Linda's Book Bag
Performing
As a young poet I learned how to perform poetry as part of Michael Horovitz's New Departures/Poetry Olympics.
More recently I have read at a variety of venues, both online and in-the-flesh, including: Gloucester Poetry Festival, Poetry at Heron's (Bristol), Cheltenham Poetry Festival, Poetry Cafe Reading, The George Newnham, Riff Corner Clevedon, the Words (York Libraries online), Subverse, Wirral Festival of Firsts (online), and Fenspeak (online).
I love the connection with the audience that readings bring and am happy to discuss doing more. Over the next year I will be touring with Anna Saunders with a gig entitled Into the Uncanny - myth, fairytales and more.
Please use the form below to contact me:
The video is of the opening to Fool's Paradise.
Workshops
I offer two workshops for poetry groups or venues: Performing Your Poetry & Writing Poetry for Multiple Voices.
Performing Your Poetry
This workshop is for people who have never read in public and those who have but want to improve.
The aim of this workshop is for you to explore your voice, gain practical tips on how to perform/read poetry and to boost your confidence. Don’t worry about having a soft voice, never have read in public before, this relaxed workshop should help you.
Writing Poetry For Multiple Voices
This generative workshop looks at the rich tradition of poetry for voices from Alice Oswald to traditional verse forms and explores the strengths and opportunities that the form offers.
By the end of the workshop participants should have begun to fashion their own poetry for voices.