Kerry Hammerton
Poet and Writer
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'afterwards is a thrilling collection that takes us in a series of lyrical bounds from the poet's ancestry in Wales to her birth in England to the country and spirit animals she now inhabits. An exhilarating read.'
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FINUALA DOWLING
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'Secret Keeper, her third collection, testifies to the growing strength of Hammerton's poetic voice. These poems are brave and honest. Sharp as the truth. They look life and death, ageing and loss, squarely in the face. And still smile.'
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KOBUS MOOLMAN
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‘Hammerton’s poetry tells stories we never tire of living and reliving especially when told new. Her light, sometimes witty, understated control of words, makes this telling deliciously new.’
MOIRA RICHARDS
'In these provocative poems Kerry Hammerton probes with a ruthless acuity how society represents self and women. Ranging from lyrical poetry to flash-fiction this experimental collection is richly satisfying.'
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KOBUS MOOLMAN
'Kerry Hammerton is a poet of flawless diction that ranges from despair, through ecstasy to stillness. A poet to watch and listen to.'
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GUS FERGUSON
‘it’s Hammerton’s amusing, wry funny voice that is such a delightful surprise here... poetry that is often amusing, sometimes a little droll and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny... this collection is amusing, refreshing and extraordinarily entertaining.’
ARJA SALAFRANCA
BIO
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Kerry Hammerton lives in Cape Town, South Africa but has also lived in Johannesburg and London. Reading is her first passion although writing poetry is a close second.
She has an MA in Creative Writing from Rhodes University.
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Kerry has published poetry in various South African and international journals and anthologies – including Living While Feminist (Kwela Books 2020), The Only Magic We Know (Modjaji Books 2020), Cutting Carrots the Wrong Way (Ughlanga Press 2017) and Hallelujah for 50ft Women (Bloodaxe Books 2015).
She has four collections These are the Lies I told You (Modjaji 2010), The Weather Report (2013), Secret Keeper (Modjaji 2018) and afterwards (Karavan Press 2023).
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Her short story ‘Spider Woman’ was longlisted for the Short Sharp Stories prize themed Trade Secrets in 2017.
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Kerry is a freelance tutor and supervisor at the Rhodes Masters Creative Writing programme in the School of Literature and Language.
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Some of her writing can be found on her Substack page: Kerry Hammerton