Talk:Fiona Sampson

Birth date
Was Fiona Sampson born in 1963 or 1968? Internet searches come out about half and half. Which is it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 150.237.85.185 (talk) 14:49, 22 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Who knows? Birth date discrepancy is very common. The Poetry Foundation, The Poetry Archive, The BBC say 1963. The Guardian, Gresham College and the The Poetry Book Society say 1963. All are pretty good sources. Span (talk) 15:48, 22 November 2012 (UTC)
 * 1963 is consistent across the majority of sources so I have added that. I have not added in the dmy template as this seems to create data issues. CoalsCollective (talk) 15:35, 9 March 2024 (UTC)

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A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 10:22, 23 September 2022 (UTC)
 * DSC00273 - Copy.jpg

Promotional Tone/Citations
It's a shame this page has a notices at the top when there is also lots of good well-cited content and many notable achievements. I'm going to try to remove repetitions and put in some sections. I think a lot of the promotional tone comes from the enthusiastic adding of information without any thinning out of what has gone before. CoalsCollective (talk) 09:16, 7 March 2024 (UTC)


 * I've added sections and moved text so that it is easier to find a way around. I've removed just a few sentences such 'received international acclaim' and 'translated into 38 languages' which were creating the promotional tone. There really is no need for them - this is a very notable career. I'm now going to begin the work of citation. There are hardly any and the books all need proper citations too. CoalsCollective (talk) 11:08, 7 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Disappointed to find the 'promotion' is a little more than skin deep! Found myself cutting an alarming amount of unverified 'spin'. CoalsCollective (talk) 16:20, 9 March 2024 (UTC)

Unable to Verify
I've removed a few things I cannot verify, and I should stress I have looked with the full resources of a good university library. I'm reluctant to do this, so if someone can come up with a source that is not Sampson's own website, it would be great if you could put them back. They are

Career as a concert violinist. To me this is a claim beyond 'professional musician' and I just can't find any record or recording of it.

translated into 38 Languages  I fear this is promotional spin accidentally recopied.

Zlaten Prsten Prize for 2004. This prize does not exist as far as I can see, even in Macedonian. May be some one can find the record? CoalsCollective (talk) 14:56, 8 March 2024 (UTC)


 * PEN Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography 2022 The claim is that Sampson was a finalist. I have checked the PEN website for 2021 22 and 23 and her book is not there. I have therefore removed the reference. If it was longlisted, please replace citation. CoalsCollective (talk) 17:52, 8 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Plutarch Prize - claim is that Sampson was a finalist but the book was longlisted only. Have adjusted. A disappointing amount of 'promotion' in these prizes. CoalsCollective (talk) 22:22, 8 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I've also removed a few grants from the Awards and honours section. They are not sufficiently notable. CoalsCollective (talk) 15:28, 9 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm very troubled that for both European Lyric Atlas Prize and the Naim Frasheri Laureateship I can find evidence of Sampson being a judge but none of her actually winning the prize concerned. They are both Macedonian prizes so it may simply be a translation issue. I have put up notices, I do hope someone can help. CoalsCollective (talk) 15:54, 9 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I have removed these as not only can I not verify that Sampson won them but they do not, on review of the criteria, appear to meet Wikipedia's notability criteria. CoalsCollective (talk) 14:11, 23 March 2024 (UTC)

Removal of Notices?
I've still got a way to go - all the ISBN numbers for a start- but I think this article is no longer in a promotional tone and the citations are beginning to be adequate. So unless anyone seriously objects in the next two weeks, I'll take the notice down at the end of the month. By that time I hope to have all the citations in order. This has been much, much harder than I imagined and I do hope it hasn't made me tetchy. Open to all suggestions, especially if you can run down those Macedonian prizes! CoalsCollective (talk) 15:45, 11 March 2024 (UTC)


 * ISBNs up and most facts now have citations. I will remove the notices at the end of the month unless there are objections. CoalsCollective (talk) 15:03, 24 March 2024 (UTC)

CoalsCollective (talk) 16:48, 29 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm going to take the above notice down now as I consider the issues have been resolved. CoalsCollective (talk) 16:48, 29 March 2024 (UTC)