LOCAL poet Barbara Daniels has received the honour of becoming a full member of the Welsh Academy following the publication of six collections of poetry and numerous successes in poetry competitions.

The membership, which is only extended by invitation, has been conferred for Barbara's contribution to the literature of Wales.

Three of Barbara's collections were published by the National Poetry Foundation, and a fourth, Camera Obscura won the Poetry Monthly Open Booklet Competition 2001.

Her most recent collection, The Cartographer Sleeps, was launched at the Ledbury Poetry Festival, where the poems were described as having 'a formal grace and hard-won beauty'.

"I think Ledbury was the highlight of my career so far as it was a great success and is a sign that one has 'arrived' on the wider poetry scene," he said.

Barbara's many competition wins have included first prizes in The Literary Review, The Spectator and Friends of War Memorials, when her poem was read at the House of Lords.

More recently, Barbara has given readings in the Millennium Centre in Cardiff, the Presteigne Music Festival, and the Dolman Theatre. "This was part of the 'Writers on Tour' scheme," she explained, "and I suspect that full membership of the Academy will lead to more of this type of work."

She added: "I'm particularly pleased to receive this distinction from the Academy as I've never written specifically about Wales, so it shows that the Academy has broadened its scope beyond things purely Welsh."