The Complete Works: Poetry was an initiative of
Bernardine Evaristo to tackle the underrepresentation of poets of colour in UK poetry in the early years of the 21st century as revealed by the Free Verse Report in 2005. Evaristo stated that "publishers simply weren't publishing poets of colour." The programme was directed by Dr Nathalie Tetlier, an academic and poet, with funding from the
Arts Council of England. Every four years, ten Black and Asian UK poets at the beginning of their careers were selected and offered a programme of mentoring, seminars, literature retreats and publication in a
Bloodaxe anthology. Mentors included
Caleb Femi and
Liz Berry. The Complete Works Diversity in UK Poetry Conference was held in
Goldsmiths University London in November 2017. Over the period of the programme, publication of poets of colour increased. Complete Works Fellows won three
Forward Prizes, two
T. S. Eliot Prizes, two
Ted Hughes Awards, two
Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Awards, a
Somerset Maugham Award, a
Dylan Thomas Prize, and a
Rathbones Folio Prize. Fellows also judged the Forward and T. S. Eliot Prizes during this period and published more than 40 collections. In
The Guardian in 2017,
Bernardine Evaristo called it "a scheme that actually works." The programme went on to inspire The James Berry Prize and the Manchester Poets of Colour Incubator in 2023. == Fellows ==