Professor of Poetry Kimberly Campanello marks major creative milestone with debut novel and new poetry collection

Use the Words You Have is the inaugural title from the new literary imprint of BAFTA and Oscar-winning production company Somesuch

Kimberly Campanello, Professor of Poetry in the School of English, celebrates the publication of two major creative works this summer: her debut novel, Use the Words You Have (Somesuch Editions), and a new poetry collection, An Interesting Detail (Bloomsbury).

Together, the books mark a significant moment in Professor Campanello’s career as a writer and academic, showcasing her distinctive voice and continued experimentation across poetic and prose forms.

Professor Campanello’s debut novel, Use the Words You Have, is the inaugural title from the new literary imprint of BAFTA and Oscar-winning production company Somesuch. Set over the course of a hot summer in Brittany, France, the novel follows American student K, who embarks on a love affair with a local while barred from using English as part of her French language programme. As their identities change through linguistic dislocation, K undergoes a profound transformation shaped by touch, taste, desire and sensation.

The book, which Professor Campanello will launch in Leeds on 3 July in conversation with award-winning poet Jason Allen-Paisant, has been described as “a literary romance like no other… a coming-of-age tale that reveals how coming-of-age – at its pinnacle – means coming alive.”

Professor Campanello wrote the novel in the summer of 2019, following her first full academic year at the University of Leeds. That same year, she began writing An Interesting Detail, which was published earlier this month by Bloomsbury. The collection was selected by the Guardian as one of the best new poetry books and reviewed by Oluwaseun Olayiwola, who described Campanello’s poetics as “startlingly inventive.” The sentences, he writes, are “fierce, breathless, seducing the ear by rhythmic propulsion and monosyllabic control, and all while teetering on the blurred boundary between short story and prose poem.” Bruce Omar Yates, writing in The London magazine said, “Use the Words You Have is a testament to language’s curious duality: it constrains, it limits, but it also liberates by offering new ways to communicate, connect and love.”

Written in a range of forms – from prose poems and short lyric bursts to longer poetic sequences – An Interesting Detail explores illness, power, connection, and what it means to navigate catastrophe in everyday life. It also includes work written in response to Professor Campanello’s 2021 diagnosis of young onset Parkinson’s disease.

Reflecting on this period of intense creativity and the experience of working with editors on both books, Professor Campanello said:

“It was a very productive period working with poetic voice and form, which took me to 2021 when I was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s disease and wrote ‘Moving Nowhere Here’, included in the collection. What links the experiences of publishing these two books is the eye of both editors, which is something we support our students to value and work with on our courses at Leeds. Having someone read your book carefully – whether it’s to sharpen, develop, amplify, or leave alone – is not only valuable, it’s an honour. Kayo Chingonyi (Bloomsbury) and Suze Olbrich (Somesuch Editions) were brilliant in their understanding of each book’s aims and how to tweak various elements ever so slightly toward achieving them more fully.”

Professor Campanello joined the University of Leeds in 2018 to establish and lead the BA English Literature with Creative Writing programme and to contribute to the activities of the Poetry Centre – now Poetry@Leeds – the University’s hub for research, impact, public engagement, and teaching in poetry. She will take on the role of Director in August 2025, following the outstanding work of founding Director, Professor John Whale.

The School of English has seen major growth in its Creative Writing provision, including the introduction of an MA Creative Writing and a strong cohort of postgraduate researchers pursuing practice-led PhDs. Writers and poets Ross Raisin, Caitlin Stobie, Jess Richards, SK Perry, JR Carpenter, Matt Howard, and Zaffar Kunial have joined Campanello, who was welcomed in 2018 by Simon Armitage, John Whale, and Jay Prosser.

Professor Campanello said: “Support for practice research in our Faculty, including via the work of the Centre for Practice Research in the Arts, has attracted these distinctive poets and writers, enabling us to make a significant contribution to the last REF and to research culture in the University as a whole, which continues apace.”

Campanello added: “It’s been a real joy to see the community grow as we work with students at every level. The varied genres, styles, and concerns represented in the writing practice of my colleagues makes Leeds an ideal place to study and discover how to ‘use the words you have to get the words you need’.”

Professor Campanello’s work exemplifies the creative-critical ethos at the heart of Creative Writing at Leeds, drawing on lived experience, research, formal innovation, and a commitment to poetic risk-taking. Both Use the Words You Have and An Interesting Detail offer readers deeply textured, embodied accounts of voice, transformation, and connection – themes that are as present in the classroom as they are on the page.

Join Kimberly on 3 July at Hyde Park Book Club for the Leeds launch of Use the Words You Have. Tickets available here.