Claire Meadows (born 30 December 1981) is a writer, poet, installation artist and director of Liquid Gallery Ltd. Claire is also founder and editor in chief of Nyne Magazine. 

Background

Claire was born in Beverley, in the East Riding of Yorkshire in 1981, and lived in nearby Hull until 2001. A keen writer from an early age, Claire remembers spending hours with her mother, Beverley, reading, and learning about the world through the beauty of the written word. At the age of 13, Claire remembers going through a 'Jackie Collins phase' -'I read everything she had ever written and tried to replicate her style. My mattress was bulging with drafts that I had written at fever-pitch and then shoved under there because they were too embarrassing to read to anyone!' Claire formed many of her literary passions during her teens -Vladimir Nabokov, Evelyn Waugh & Anne Rice. 

Claire recalls a happy introduction to the work of Oscar Wilde during this period. 'My mother told me 'you have to watch this movie'. It was 'The Picture of Dorian Grey' with Hurd Hatfield and George Sanders. I sat in awe of this wonderful film, and devoured everything that Wilde wrote afterwards. Complete Bliss, Genius.' 

Claire remembers her school years as a traumatic time 'Probably the worst time of my entire life. My primary school was a dream world. But I hit high school completely unprepared for the level of savagery that i experienced.  I was a geek, an outsider, happy in my own company. It made me a target. I tried to please everyone, and ended up hating myself for it.' Her one escape was literature, and she read and wrote poetry for hours on end.

After spending her college years 'in a self-imposed emotional and intellectual exile', Claire moved down to London in 2001.

She studied for her BA in Literature on the Open University, graduating in 2009. From 2003-2007 Claire worked in Policy at the UK Home Office, and qualified as a Legal Secretary in 2007. After an unhappy time working at a famous global corporation as a Legal PA for two years, Claire decided to leave that world behind, follow her passion for art and set up Liquid Gallery Ltd.

Liquid Gallery

Claire is the Managing Director of Liquid Gallery Ltd, an artist management agency and gallery. Claire is particularly keen to promote the work of young artists, and has research interests in social equality and a less 'London-centric' view of the arts. Claire is currently working on her first solo art installation. She says 'I don't want to give too much away, but it's going to be raw and honest. Everything i create is a little piece of me, and this is no exception. I'm working with some great people to bring it to fruition.' 

Gold After

''Gold After'' is Claire's debut poetry collection, published by Lulu Press in 2010. Claire says '''Gold After'' was five years in the making. I began writing it in 2004, inspired by one of the grandest passions of my entire life. I sat on the half-draft for four years because i wanted it to be just right when I finally let it fly.' In 2009, Claire was hospitalised with severe mental exhaustion, and used her recovery time to complete what was to become ''Gold After''. 'I finished it in a two week frenzy- very intense’.

Nyne Magazine & upcoming projects

Claire is keen to promote the work of up and coming poets, writers and artists through Nyne Magazine, which went on sale at the Tate Modern Bookshop in January 2012

Her next book is The Apocalypse Notes, a companion piece to Gold After, due April 2012 from Tempest Press. Claire also writes a weekly column called The View for she-nanigans.net. 

Personal Life

Claire currently lives in London with her husband, two siamese cats, a chicken called Michael Jackson and Willow the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. A vegetarian, she is a passionate supporter of animal rights and is launching an organic beauty blog, Beauty Green, in February 2012.