Mario Petrucci

Mario Petrucci (born 1958) is a poet, literary translator, educator and broadcaster. He was born in Lambeth, London and trained as a physicist at Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge and later completed a PhD in vacuum crystal growth at University College London. He is also an ecologist, having a BA in Environmental Science from Middlesex University. Petrucci was the first poet to be resident at the Imperial War Museum. and with BBC Radio 3 . His first major collection, Shrapnel and Sheets (1996), won a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. He has been much involved in radio broadcasting and in the educational sector, in creative writing and literary mentoring. He has generated many educational resources that incorporate creative writing, science and ecology. Petrucci's poetry has also been deployed in a number of films. For instance, Heavy Water: a film for Chernobyl and Half Life: a Journey to Chernobyl were based on his award-winning poetry collection on Chernobyl. Produced by Seventh Art Productions, these films have garnered awards such as the Cinequest as well as screenings on mainstream television and at major cultural venues such as Tate Modern (in 2007). 2012 saw Petrucci shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award with a vast poetry soundscape (among the largest ever created) entitled Tales from the Bridge. This installation spanned the Thames (on the Millennium Bridge, London) as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Collaborators for the project included Martyn Ware (The Human League) and Eric Whitacre, whose music was used.