Derbyshire Poet Laureate

Yule Blog: Tigers, Ted Hughes and Crazy Santas

2011-12-15T10:10:00.000Z

TIGER - we read the word, and we see a tiger, but we all see a different tiger. This still amazes me, the creative transformation that takes place between the word and the picture in the mind, and the unique way we each do this. I've tried this out in numerous classrooms and groups, asking for what each person saw, and the detail and differences are amazing. Why am I talking about this? Well, mostly because I don't have an obvious photo to put up, so I thought Why not put up a wordphoto? That's this week's wordphoto then - TIGER.
     Other bits of Laureating news are mostly research bits towards commissions that are starting to move along. I spent a lovely afternoon and evening with Roger Wood, historian at West Hallam, (thanks Roger, and thanks Ann and Tim, for lovely pub tea too), learning lots about John Scargill, the benefactor of 4 local schools , and a 17th century educational reformer well ahead of his time. There will be events celebrating his 350th anniversary all next year so if you are interested in knowing any more just contact me and I can forward details.
     Also this week I came across the wonderfulness of Yain Tain Eddero, very old counting in the Derbyshire dialect, of which the Yorkshire variation has been made into a folk song by Jake Thackeray - Yam Tam Tether. But the Ancient Celtic dialect from Derbyshire, from the Brythunic Celtic languages, is equally a found poem - here's the counting up to 20 -
yain tain eddero
peddero pitts tater
later overoo coveroo
dix
yaindix taindix
edderodix pederodix
bumfitt
yeanobumfitt
teanobumfitt
edero-o-bumfitt
pedero-o-bumfitt
jiggit.
Isn't that wonderful? And of course playing with those rhythms and how it could be set out is a next stage, and a fun morning talking out loud in ancient Celtic.
     What else? For anyone that missed it, the radio documentary about Ted Hughes, commemorating his work and his stone in Westminster Abbey, is still on iPlayer at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0183glm/Archive_on_4_Ted_Hughes_Memorial_Tones/. And as if to counterbalance this in tone, you could then go to a fabulous poem on Youtube called "Crazy Santas Occupy The World", by the American poet David Lee Morgan, set to music by the wonderful Michael Harding, a musician and laptop DJ based in Sheffield who does lots of work creating soundscapes and music to go with poems - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzGUoEnre8U.
      Finally, staying with the musical theme, I think I'll put up the draft version of a recent poem from the Assembly Rooms in Derbyshire - this hasn't yet been to the workshop I go to, so if anyone has any comments they would be most welcome, and I would feed these in to the next stage of redrafting. Here it is, and have a great Xmas - all best, Matt

Assembly, 2011

Plastic lagers and packed,

black curtains, dry ice, Derby folk night,

gig frocks and ponytails. Ade Edmondson,

loud one from the Young Ones,

is playing folk versions of punk anthems,

God Save the Queen, a fascist regime,

post Arab Spring, Occupy everything.

The fiddler rocks out reels,

I can smell Silk Cut King Size, and grass,

Sex Pistols at Cleopatra’s, 1976,

and the uilleann pipes grieve and weave

dark watery wailings, out through walls

to Derbyshire fields, and mills, and chimneys,

where the first factory rises, your future dream

is a shopping scheme, I am an anarchist.

This is Bad Sheperds stirring their flocks

as markets (Buxton, Ashbourne, Wall Street) tumble

‘cross Peaks and Dales, take me to the river,

folk-punk, England’s old dissenters,

soft-angry angels fly again the hills.

That young guy I told about this gig

just laughed at me wanting to go – why?

This is middle-aged shout-out,

White Riot – I wanna riot of my own,

London calling to the faraway towns,

Clash, King’s Hall, because who is talking

about Derby in the 1970s?

Where fists once punched the air

mobile phones glimmer.

Ade has a bad toe, is wearing slippers,

yet they’re still rocking it, Anger Is An Energy,

but almost noone’s moving -

except us, a few at-the-back, die-hard,

joy-monster how-can-you-resist Anarchists,

shouting loud and jumping to combine

Irish jig and pogo.

And you may ask yourself

how did I get here?

listening to thrash mandolin

near the home of the Pentrich Rebellion,

200 years ago, wanting to wipe the National Debt,

needing to protest, not knowing what,

same as it ever was,

same as it ever was;

and tomorrow, we’ll take the old road

from the Red Lion, walk past the church,

head from Litton up the gentle slope

towards a future, ten minutes later,

in Tideswell, where we’ll buy the paper.

We’ll look to that brow of hill,

and beyond, Derbyshire, the sky,

the whole wide world.

May the road rise with you.

Scarthin's and the giant pencil

2011-12-05T16:05:00.001Z

Here's one or two photos from Scarthin's - Britain's most enjoyable bookshop - in Cromford where we had a very enjoyable time yesterday (Sunday, that is) mini-launching a poem that I have written for them (I've put the poem below). As I arrived David Mitchell (pictured left) Scarthin's lovely, eccentric and book-enthusiast owner, was stalwartly and enthusiastically, in a bitter wind, working on new shelves that were leaning on the fence overlooking the pond. The poem was read to a largely unsuspecting - and largely trapped - cafe audience, who joined in joyfully with the 2nd poem that I read, which was about the diets that teachers are always talking about in staffrooms. Many thanks to them for both listening over their salads and houmitty pies, and for joining in.
Gavin is making a documentary about Scarthin's, which is going to include myself reading the poem amongst the books on the ground floor. The poem has been mounted onto a giant pencil - Scarthin's being so full of surprises that it seemed only right to give them the poem in a way that seemed surprising itself.

Myself with Gavin, who's making a documentary about Scarthin's -

Other news
I really enjoyed the Tennyson poem " Ring out Wild Bells", that is read - interestingly - in Sweden every year as part of New Year's Eve celebrations, and was on the Poem a Month blog this month. If you don't know Poem a Month then just have a look at http://poemamonth.wordpress.com/author/derbyshirepoemamonth/ and join it if you want a very enjoyable surprise poem every month - and they always do seem to be a real surprise too. For the amazing experience of hearing Tennyson reading his poems, go to http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=1569. As much as his stentorian tones booming across the waxy crackling airwaves, I love the sensation of listening to something live, as it were, from the 19th century, which often feels so remote, so far off, so part of history, I love this sense of the 19th century feeling alive, and in the room.

Scarthin’s

House of Arabian nights, and warm cake,

paper-promise freedom-church of childhood,

this rural chic winding tower, of wild stories,

surprises as fast as Reeves and Mortimer,

treasures winking inside their own chapters.

Leave the car, forget the clocks, enter

under a tumbling flock of flying Chinese books,

turn off text-machine, and step over

into browsing world, slow down, take time,

look around, this dream-palace where people wander

over scuffed carpet, worn bare and polished

by thirty-eight years of shuffling bookworms.

Stop. Look up, like a child again, wonder

at the cliffs, Penguins, Puffins, Bodley Head,

want to dive inside these seas of print,

be entranced by spines, The Great Gatsby,

The Color Purple, How To Be Happy,

signs in careful pen – Terrorism, Fishing,

Poetry, Goats; books in boxes, crates, on sills,

ledges, shelves of pine, ply, anything will do -

Extraordinary Facts About Derbyshire.

Keen books at attention, tired books leaning,

retired books asleep on their sides in corners,

upstairs to sprawls, and piles, and walls.

Layers everywhere, like Whitehurst strata

that hinted at the truth of evolution.

The café: Beatles print, Police Report on Byron,

antlers, Aga, a swirling exhibition,

if I wrote all this I’d be here all my life,

an unravelling conversation about scones,

Texas car-plates, old menus, Psychic News.

Conversation every day, but every month,

round the long table and avoiding the vine,

a topic, “Schools”, “Holidays”, “Violence In The Streets”,

gentle urbane chatter through the greenhouse quiet.

One more floor, cloud of sweet talc, and Doctor Johnson

in from Lichfield asking Guy for information.

A heat map of the Peak District, like a painting.

Canals, Philosophy, Weather, Music,

My Life with Frank Zappa, by Pauline Butcher.

It all seems such a long way from a riot.

Like this Tuscan chickpea soup, not Tunisian,

and pre-loved fiction, alive with earlier readers,

and no 3 for 2, each 1 being a full meal,

such a long way from the fast food of Google,

in the house of long memory, big story,

each book with a thousand thousand children

in Australia, Africa, Iran.

In the event of a fire, assembly point,

Wooden seats on the promenade overlooking the pond.

# over and out for now, ciao, Matt

Aston Cockaine, Derbyshire's Austin Powers: and other stuff

2011-11-28T14:51:00.000Z

DERBYSHIRE BALLADS
    I've been doing bits of research into ballads, which have taken me to the wonderful 19th century collection of Derbyshire ballads  http://openlibrary.org/books/OL24174602M/The_ballads_songs_of_Derbyshire. This includes a ballad about Henry V, to whom the King of France sent, not the tribute that was due to him in gold, but 10 tons of tennis balls instead. Likewise references to the wonderfully named poet from Ashbourne, Aston Cockaine (yes, surely he is the seventeenth century Austin Powers), an aristocrat with a fondness for gambling, connections to Izaak Walton, and writers such as Massinger, Lovelace, and John Donne. In these days of poetry collections with a fondness for themes, or themed sections, here's a glass to celebrate his "Small Poems of Divers Sorts" - as someone who loves variety, and surprises, a collection that has divers sorts of poems is still, to me, the kind I am readiest to jump into. Or maybe it's just the pleasure of random dipping that is so fresh and freedom-flying.

READING AT SCARTHIN'S NEXT SUNDAY
    I'm going to be reading next Sunday at Scarthin's bookshop in Cromford - a very informal sort of reading - stay and listen - or drop in while you're shopping. Starting at about 1.00pm, and for just 20 minutes or maybe half an hour at the most. Free, and all are welcome, and the soups, cakes and other cafe treats are of course delicious. This is to "launch" (hmmm, much more informal actually) a new poem for the bookshop that I've written. Do hope you can come along.
    To just get a flavour of the wonder that is Scarthin's, if you don't know it, start by visiting http://www.scarthinbooks.com/ It calls itself the most enjoyable bookshop in England, and it's not wrong!

What's that Laureate been doing then? a month later...

2011-11-18T19:39:00.002Z

A good month, days out, balmy late summer drives to West Hallam, Buxton, Alfreton, Wirksworth, Chesterfield, planning meetings, exciting projects getting ready for the New Year, and writing time too. Quite a lot of time spent on limericks - my tribute to Edward Lear, whose bicentenary it is next year, is a book of nonsense verse and prose called The Nonsense Olympics - time that was often joyous, with laughter ringing the rafters, and other moments of scansion madness - does it scan? does it? does it? Hopefully it's to print in the next few days, and I'll post more about it soon, doubtless.

                 from Animal Olympics no. 3 - "dodo pogo"
On which theme, 2 things that may be of interest - firstly, the Derbyshire Lit Festival is running a nonsense poetry and flash fiction competition, and if you're interested just go to www.derbyshire.gov.uk/festival. And for a great site on Lear in general, there's the very dedicated and wonderful Blog of Bosh nonsenselit.org.wordpress. He called himself Lord High Bosh and nonsense producer, though he also called himself "Mr Abebika kratoponoko Prizzikalo Kattefello Ablegorabalus Ableborinto phashyph" and sometimes "Chakonoton the Cozovex Dossi Fossi Sini Tomentilla Coronilla Polentilla Battledore & Shuttlecock Derry down Derry Dumps".
         Other good news for me was having a poem published in this month's The Rialto (therialto.co.uk). I've been much better at sending poems out this year - I forget about it sometimes for a year or two, when I just get too busy with other stuff.
        Going to finish for now with a five-minute haiku -

6 music playing
friday night be bop hip hop -
frog music leaping

ciao for now, Matt (woops, seem to have lost photo of self on homepage, should remedy or maybe write photo in words...)

Being Launched as Laureate

2011-10-11T15:49:00.013+01:00

Hello there. This is my first blog entry as Laureate, and follows being launched last Thursday, on National Poetry Day, and I just wanted to say big thanks to everyone who came and welcomed me into this Laureateship-sailing-ahead, and I hope you enjoyed the launching, which I thought had a lovely and warm feel. Friends, writers, councillors, library staff, previous laureates (even m' Da showed up in his best jeans!) - so, many thanks for braving a dreek and stormy night in Alfreton to listen to some poems and say hello to each other.
How does it feel? Exciting, very much like the start of a journey, with a magical ticket to wander and explore, as well as some clear places to go to, and I have lots of ideas that I'd like to see happen over the next 2 years. I hope to do plenty of readings, in all sorts of places (invitations welcome!) and commissions, and have various other strange and wonderful ideas which I'm just beginning to develop, and shall keep this blog posted with. For now, I'm going to have to go - as I'm about to run a Dead Poets Slam, and have 16 dead (and dead-famous) poets turning up in a couple of hours to compete in a poetry Slam - and I've just worked out what the winner is going to get - which will be a copy of what I think is definitely one of the best contemporary poetry anthologies of recent years - "Staying Alive" from Bloodaxe. And such a good title for the winner of a Dead Poets Slam too! More soon, I'm sure.... Matt (Black)

Handing over the laureate baton ...

2011-09-30T21:40:00.007+01:00

Ann has handed over the laureate baton to Matt Black who officially takes over as the new Derbyshire Poet Laureate on National Poetry Day, Thursday 6th October 2011.

We're delighted to welcome Matt to the role and look forward to working with him over the next 2 years.

Matt's launch event is on Thursday 6th October 2011, 7.30-8.45pm at Alfreton Library.
He'll be reading a selection of poems, including poems inspired by Games, which is the theme for this year’s National Poetry Day. Matt will also be launching the Derbyshire Literature Festival 2012 Nonsense Poetry and Prose writing competition.
The event is free and if you'd like to come along and meet Matt please book tickets with the Arts Team on 01773 831385 or email arts.team@derbyshire.gov.uk

Unofficially Matt has already started as laureate and will be popping in to various events during the Chatsworth Road Festival in Chesterfield which takes place 1st to 8th October. So if you're out shopping on Chatsworth Road over the next week you may bump into him.

Ali Betteridge
Literature Development Officer

From Matlock to Mamelodi

2011-09-30T21:15:00.005+01:00

Ann's tenure as Derbyshire Poet Laureate has just finished and I can't believe another two years of the laureateship has gone so quickly. Last week we launched From Matlock to Mamelodi: 5000 miles of poetry with the Derbyshire Poet Laureate Ann Atkinson, a collection which brings together poems written by Ann during her time as laureate. It also features a selection of poems written by young people and adults who took part in poetry workshops led by Ann. Many thanks to everyone who came along to the launch it was a wonderful evening which reflected Ann's warmth, enthusiasm and love of poetry.

Over the last 2 years Ann has taken part in over 50 events, written 28 new poems inspired by Derbyshire and engaged with over 1300 audience members and participants. She has taken part in a cultural exchange to Mamelodi in South Africa; written poems about cricket legends, young Derbyshire sports people, the Enlightenment and Derbyshire's industrial heritage; and she has encouraged people to write their own poetry be it inspired by where they live or the paintings of Joseph Wright.

Ann has been fantastic to work with and a huge thank you to her for everything she has done to promote poetry over the last 2 years.

Ali Betteridge
Literature Development Officer

2010-02-03T16:53:00.006Z

Happy New Year!

Since October I have met so many people – librarians, local government officers, museum curators, and lots of other enthusiastic poets too. Here are a couple of pictures from the workshop in Queen's Park.
My first task as laureate, was to spend hours interrupting people over their lunch in the cafeteria in County Hall, Smedley Street. I’m pleased to say that nobody minded, and they were very happy to answer questions about their work, their personal heroines and heroes. Based on their responses, I wrote this poem John Smedley visits County Hall.

October 8th 2009
John Smedley Visits County Hall

and he is pleased to find his Hydro stands,
though changed - there’s much to recognise.
You tell him it’s a power-house, a castle,
fortress, maze, and then (becoming lyrical)
set in Elysium’s Fields, majestic still.

He nods, looks out across a busy town,
the hills beyond, the same bright wash of light
through stained glass windows in the drawing room.
Listen - staircase, washrooms, greenhouse, lawns
and halls – the swish of long silk skirts, murmur
of water-flow, the crack of mallet on croquet balls.

He asks what happens here these days,
what work you do. You say you are a cog
that turns the bigger wheel, without you there’d be
no bus stops, social care, no books, chaos on the roads;
that you’re a bridge between the action and its need,
you speak for those who otherwise would not be heard.

And if you had a super-power you’d see
into the future, work with super-speed, and fly,
be good as Ghandi and Mandela - you’d be a Beckham
or Joanna Lumley - be Wonder-Woman, possess
a micro-chip that stores all passwords, the latest
smart technology........but here John Smedley
starts to lose your drift, is fading back into his history,
his faith in water cures, his old philanthropy.

And now that grim snow-bound January is over, planning for this year’s projects is well under way. I look forward to meeting some of Derbyshire’s elite young sportspeople: River Wolton and I will be working with them and groups of children to write poems about sport which will be printed onto postcards in time for Derbyshire's Literature Festival in the summer.

But before then I'm off to Mamelodi, Pretoria with a team of other artists, to do some work with students and schools there for the Mamelodi Trust. I'm looking forward to this immensely, and will report back in May.

I'll be reading in Belper Library on February 17th.

Poetry and Paninis in the Park

2009-10-16T11:08:00.003+01:00

Join me for an afternoon of poetry and writing in Chesterfield's lovely Victorian Queen's Park.

Tuesday 20th October, 12.00 - 3.00pm
cost: £7 / £5 conc. - includes panini, sandwich or salad + coffee, tea or soft drink

To book: phone Alison Betteridge - 01773 831359

Meet at Queen's Park Pizzaria & Gelateria, North Lodge (beside the footbridge), Queen's Park, Chesterfield S40 2LD

And the new Derbyshire Poet Laureate is ...

2009-10-07T13:50:00.004+01:00

Ann Atkinson! I'm delighted to be handing the helm of the Laureate Ship over to her and wish her a happy two years filled with poetic delights of every kind ... Here's Ann

“I have lived in Derbyshire in the Peak District for over thirty years. I grew up on Teesside in the fumes of the chemical industries, and went to school on Hartlepool’s Headland, and if now and then I admit to missing the sea, when I drive up over open moorland, the clear air, the familiar skyline of the Peaks never fails to lift my heart and call me home. In the same way, though I can trace my love of poetry to my childhood and a particular teacher, it is my home and family, the beautiful landscape and the people who live in it, that provide a constant source of inspiration.

Writing poetry, working with students and fellow writers, has been central to my life for many years. Recently, in my role as Poet Laureate of the Peak, I spent several days meeting people at Bakewell Show; this proved to be a rich source of material for a set of poems.
So I look forward to meeting more people, in more and more places in Derbyshire, people who have stories to tell and poems to write....and I hope I’ll be writing some too.”

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em ...

2009-09-29T15:21:00.005+01:00

The Some Girls' Mothers crew (of which River - now ex-Derbyshire Poet Laureate - is proud to be a member) are running a writing workshop and performing on 18th October as part of Off The Shelf Festival. Tickets are booking fast so here are the links:

Writing workshop with Anne Caldwell & River Wolton

Performance with Anne Caldwell, Nell Farrell, Clare Shaw & River Wolton

We sold out Chesterfield Library Theatre in March, so hoping for a great turn-out in Sheff.

Though the authors are primarily poets, SGM is a collection of prose stories about mothers & daughters. Check out our Facebook page.

... is here! Thanks to everyone who came to Alfreton last week for the grand launch of the book, and celebration of the Laureate Ship and all who have sailed in her for the last two years. It was great to see so many familiar faces and to celebrate with everyone who's contributed. You Are Here will soon be available to borrow through Derbyshire libraries or you can find out how to buy a copy here.

National Poetry Day is on the horizon. This years theme is Heroes and Heroines. I'll be reading at Hear Women Poets, Here alongside 7 other poets - a poetry relay!

If you're a knitter or crochet-er you can join (this weekend) in creating the world's biggest knitted poem!

'The whole thing starts with a single knot
and needles. A word and pen.'
(from 'How to Knit a Poem' by Gwyneth Lewis)

Poetry Season is Here

2009-09-07T12:19:00.006+01:00

As the damp squib of a summer fades it's time to gladden the heart with poems. There's plenty to choose from in the upcoming Manchester Literature Festival (15 - 25 Oct) and Sheffield's Off The Shelf Festival (10 - 31 Oct).

Closer to home, the Melbourne Arts Festival is underway (4th - 20th Sept) with a huge variety of live performances, as well as the Art and Architecture Trail. Wirksworth Festival (11th - 26th Sept) promises a wealth of contemporary visual art and performance.

If you're putting pen to paper, why not send an entry to the Big Issue in the North Poetry Competition, closing date 8th Oct, with the theme of Heroes & Heroines.

The National Poetry Competition (closing date 31 Oct) is particularly short on entries from Derbyshire and the East Midlands this year... so get writing!

Tree Treasure

2009-08-06T17:30:00.012+01:00

Blog silence is due to much midday and midnight oil burned whilst writing & proofing a collection about my 2 years of laureateering. The book's working title is You Are Here. It'll be launched in September and I'll be handing over to a new DPL on 8th October, National Poetry Day.

I've also been spending time in the 'deep south' of Derbyshire, at Rosliston Forestry Centre, part of the National Forest , a 'forest in the making' that covers 200 square miles of Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. I've been writing poems with Year 4 from St Edward's Catholic Primary School, Swadlincote (here's a pic of us hard at work in the Meadow), and writing a trail that will lead visitors from place to place, and tree to tree. Thanks to Kate Allies and her hard-working team for all their friendliness and hospitality.

The poem trail will be installed this autumn, but in the meantime the cracking poems written by the St Edward's crew will be on display at Swad Library and Rosliston.

Photo: Carol Rowntree Jones, Media Relations Officer, National Forest Company

Amy, Pet Laureate

2009-07-17T13:07:00.010+01:00

Beloved cat companion Amy was put to sleep on 25th June. She had been poorly for several months. Over 12 years she often collaborated in writing, by walking across the keyboard or by making muddy pawprints on draft poems.

In honour of animal companions everywhere here are some links:

Alison Brackenbury's Cat Poems (scroll down the page)

Curiosity by Alastair Reid

There's also a cracking interview & poem by recent TS Eliot prize-winner Jen Hadfield, in the recent Mslexia (Jul 09): 'In the same way' about her cat Sophie.

And here's one of mine, for Amy and the pets of Derbyshire and beyond who remind us what's really important in life.

2.53 a.m.

Leave your rush-hour sweat and classroom roar.

Leave your sprint towards the train door,

double-bookings, lost notes, stagnant mail,

your desk pitched in its papery white grave.

For miles around you sense collective weight

of heads on pillows, dreams' cast-lists.

Nothing can be done. No-one to phone;

even the West Coast's on the freeway heading home.

Water slides into a glass like well-earned sleep

and as you slump across the sofa, dark takes shape;

insists you curl up, make a lap. Sink now

to purring and the deep fur of the night. Be cat.

Looking for a Laureate

2009-07-09T13:49:00.002+01:00

Could you be Derbyshire's next Poet Laureate? I'll be handing the baton over to the next DPL on National Poetry Day in October. The laureateship is open to all who live, work or study in Derbyshire. Download the application details here. Closing date is 17th July.

Hooray for Holmewood

2009-06-16T00:11:00.011+01:00

It was sunny all round today for the launch of the Holmewood songs and poems written by The Holmewood Team at the Macintyre Centre. A brilliant performance by everyone - even the audience! Thanks to everyone who took part. Here are some pics of the performers starring in the Ten Days of Holmewood, the display being unveiled and most importantly - the cakes!

The Magic Attic

2009-06-15T23:52:00.010+01:00

It lived up to its name! A dozen of us spent a most enjoyable day using the resources of this amazing local and family history archive as inspiration for writing. A big thank-you to Graham Nutt who's been a volunteer at the Attic for over 20 years, and to Marion and Jackie who assisted on the day. The Attic can be found online here and at Sharpe's Pottery Museum, West St, Swadlincote SE11 9DG. It is a mine of information about South Derbyshire, N.W. Leicestershire and East Staffs, with newspapers dating back to 1782, local family records from 1640, maps and 22,000 photos from 1842 onwards.
(Photo from the Attic's collection:
Gresley Fire Brick clay mine c.1956)

Bibliophiles in Borrowash

2009-06-04T10:54:00.002+01:00

On the hottest day of the year, a fine crowd came to the reading at Borrowash Library this week. The librarians had laid on home-made cakes, including butterfly buns! The cakes came a very close second to the poetry on the evaluation forms.

Next week will find me at the Magic Attic, Swadlincote on Wednesday for a writing workshop using the Attic's fantastic family and local history archives. On Friday I'll be at Buxton Library for a workshop as part of National Carers' Week. If you are a carer, come along 10 am - 12 for some positive reflections & gentle writing about your experiences.

It's full steam ahead with the upcoming Celebration of Holmewood on 15th June, when the Holmewood Team from the Macintyre Centre will be helping me to perform five songs and poems they have written celebrating community life.

Congratulations to Carol Ann Duffy!

2009-05-08T14:22:00.002+01:00

... the UK's first female poet laureate since the laureateship was created 341 years ago ... Here's a short interview with the Guardian, and the Wikipedia entry.

Mixed with the happy news is the sad news that the much-loved poet UA Fanthorpe died last week at the age of 79. She was the first real poet I met, when she came to give a reading at my school many moons ago. Premonitions is Carol Ann's recent poem dedicated to her memory.

holmewood is a happy place

2009-04-24T12:48:00.043+01:00

I'm at Holmewood Community Centre today and my guest editor is Tina, over to her...

i go to holmewood every day and i like going swimming and playing on the nintendo wii.

i like coming to holmewood day centre and i like going out with friends.

today we have doing a poem about holmewood and we talked about what people like to do and we have been for a walk along the five pits trail and we have been writing a song about holmewood.

bye for now see you later.

Barnsley and Beyond

2009-04-04T19:32:00.005+01:00

Recent blog silence is down to a busy few weeks. I've been buzzing between Swadlincote (Pingle School Young Writers, aka The Alliterative Allsorts), Lea Primary School, Chesterfield, Holmewood and Matlock. I've even been over the border - with the dynamic Barnsley Writers (some of their 20-strong group are in the pic).

Couple of weeks ago I was on the Jerwood Aldeburgh 'To & From a First Collection' course. Brilliant bunch of poets including Helen Mort whose one-woman show A Pint for the Ghost will be touring haunted locations later this year, accompanied by the ghosts of Derbyshire and South Yorkshire...

Other news: If you like poems in your Inbox, the Oxford Brookes Poetry Centre will send you one a week, from presses in UK & Ireland.

If you're at the stage of putting together a poetry pamphlet check out the Templar Pamphlet & Book Competition, closing date 30th April 2009. Based in Bakewell, Templar also run the Derwent Poetry Festival.

Some Girls' Mothers: The Birth

2009-03-11T19:58:00.005Z

Thanks to everyone who packed out Chesterfield Library's Lecture Theatre last Thursday for the grand launch, and sorry to those who couldn't get in. 190 tickets sold - who knew! There's video clips and more at Route Online. Route = Ian Daley and Isabel Galan, the nicest, most writer-friendly publishers one could wish for.

This week I've been in the fair city of Derby, running poetry workshops in the Adult Learners' Centre and the Library as part of Creative Thought - a project inspired by the Silk Mill museum and its collections.

Upcoming: On Sat 4th April I'll be at the Readers' Day at County Hall, Matlock, stirring up a poetry frenzy, with luck. For tickets call Priscilla Baily on 01773 831359.

Navigation

2009-02-20T14:46:00.004Z

A thousand cheers for Jo Bell (Derbyshire born & bred). Her brilliant collection Navigation, contains poems she wrote as Cheshire Poet Laureate 2007 and many others, including one of my favourites - Blessing for a Child.

I also commend to you Jo's blog (a sight more jolly than mine) and any workshops that she might run in your vicinity (I've just been on one and it was full-tilt, top-to-toe poetry).

Other news: if you or anyone you know is in Year 9 at The Pingle School, Swadlincote, there's a brand new writers' group starting up. I'll be running the first session in the school library on 3rd March.

And - on Thursday 5th March to celebrate International Women's Day and World Book Day, I'm launching Some Girls' Mothers alongside my five fellow authors. SGM is a collection of stories about mothers and daughters. Chesterfield Library, S40 1QN (lecture theatre by the basement cafe) at 7.30pm. See you there!

Pic: Jo on her canal boat. Credit: Andy Pratt

Poets with Derbyshire connections: an occasional series

2009-02-02T19:04:00.005Z

Born in Birmingham, Roy Fisher has lived in Derbyshire for many years. A jazz pianist as well as a writer, his poetry is most often associated with the post-industrial landscape of the Midlands but has universal appeal. Here's an interview from 1989, and here's Roy reading his poems on the Poetry Archive. Published by Bloodaxe, some of Roy's books are out-of-print but you can find them if you look. He'll be eighty next year and a celebratory volume is being planned.

'.. anything I have seen, I've only seen by virtue of having been very inattentive or rebellious at school, and looking at what was out of the corner of the picture, what was outside the frame.' - Roy Fisher

(photo by Caroline Forbes)

Happy New Writing Year

2009-01-09T15:49:00.005Z

Great start to the year in the company of fine folk from Longford (nr Ashbourne) and environs (Longford Lane, Hollington, Ednaston, Smalley, Derby, and even Staffordshire!) who gathered yesterday in Cubley Village Hall to 'Write from Scratch' and leap into poetry. Many thanks to Angela Churchill from Longford Book Group for superlative organising. I'll be in that neck of the woods again on April 21st, reading at Ashbourne Library.

Closer at hand, I'm reading at Spoken Word Antics, upstairs at the Red Deer, Pitt St, Sheffield next Tues 13th January, 8pm for 8.30pm, and selling copies of 'The Purpose of Your Visit' and 'Some Girls' Mothers' with all proceeds to medical aid for Gaza.

Cool Yule

2008-12-24T00:54:00.009Z

Here's a splendid poem for the season, reproduced with kind permission of its author Shona Ashton (11).

You forget the true meaning of Christmas

The birth of Santa Claus

Here he comes now in his manger

Pulled by wild boars.

He had to use his manger

Cos his sleigh failed its MOT

Plus there was no snow this year

And the sleigh's a snow-riding machine.

Rudolph's lightbulb has broken

Either that or the battery's gone

The reindeers won't go anywhere without him

He's their hero, their Number One.

Santa has had enough now

Everything's going wrong

So if you're still waiting for presents

Be prepared to be waiting quite long.

Adrian Mitchell 1932 - 2008

2008-12-22T14:48:00.004Z

Very sad news that Adrian Mitchell died on 20th December. Dubbed the 'Shadow Poet Laureate' by Red Pepper magazine, he was an inspiring, galvanising performer, a prolific playwright and poet of unsurpassed integrity, honesty and wit. Here's the Guardian obituary and the Bloodaxe page which includes video footage of Adrian reading his poetry.

Poet Laureate X Factor

2008-12-16T13:06:00.005Z

The debate about Andrew Motion's successor continues. Here's Motion's advice and Mark Lawson's sharp take on it all (with a string of comments and proposals from others).

The DCMS is going to consult the public. Who would you vote for? Pam Ayres? Simon Armitage?

Writing on Stone

2008-11-27T18:02:00.004Z

The 2009 Buxton Poetry Competition is underway. In the new year I'll be running workshops in Derbyshire schools on the theme: stone. Here's a Poetry Archive classic to whet your appetites and chisels: Wall by the Cumbrian poet Norman Nicholson (1914 - 1987).

To change tack.. I've won first prize for poetry in the Chroma Queer Writing Competition with Return, a 'specular' poem (reads line-by-line the same backwards as forwards). It's also a 'concrete' poem (the shape reflects the subject) which nicely takes us back to stone and walls :) ...

Photo: Dry stone wall, Edale. photoeverywhere.co.uk

Killamarsh: Ready, Steady... Write!

2008-11-06T20:46:00.004Z

Today I was in misty Killamarsh for an inspiring morning of reading, writing and discussing poetry. Thanks to Michelle from the Library who organised the event, and to Wendy, Ann, Sheila, Elaine, Tina, Lynne, Lynne and Dorothy who wrote wonderful autumnal poems. They've started a new writing group - the first meeting is at the Library on Wednesday 3rd December, 4 til 6pm - all welcome.

Poetry & Money

2008-10-31T15:20:00.007Z

There's no money in poetry, but then there's no poetry in money, either. (Robert Graves)

Thanks to Cathy Grindrod for drawing my attention to the following, apposite for our 'interesting' times, written by poet Richard Armour.

That money talks
I'll not deny,
I heard it once:
It said, 'Goodbye'.

You have until midnight tonight to enter the Poetry Society's National Poetry Competition, where the first prize is £5,000.

If you want prime poetry for minimal outlay there's still 2 days left to catch an event at Sheffield's Off The Shelf Festival.

A final word on the subject:
'Money doesn't talk. It swears.' (Bob Dylan)

Thanks to Doug Savage for permission to use the Chickens. Check out more of his great poetry-related cartoons here.

More Reasons to be Cheerful

2008-10-14T16:15:00.006+01:00

There was such an abundance of cheer last week that I ran out of room, so here's the overflow:

1. Thanks to the Lovely Fiona I have a new website. It is the product of technical wizardry & much patience (plus the home page sports an ironic Byronic picture of yours truly, windswept in Whitby).

2. This Friday 17th Oct sees the official launch of The Purpose of Your Visit. 7.30 pm at Bank St Arts, 32 - 40 Bank St, Sheffield S1 2DS. I'll be reading alongside Michael Laskey and Pam Thompson.

3.Cathy Grindrod (former Derbyshire PL) and I were in Chesterfield Library last Friday for a brilliant book-based event to mark World Mental Health Day. We played Poetry Bingo with an impressively creative audience, who collaborated on the poems featured below.

Seven Things I Like About Autumn

Chestnut leaves changing to yellow.

Frost crisp in the air.

Spiky shells scattering.

Children in woolly hats and scarves - pink, orange.

Acorns snug in their pods.

Wind whistling up the fireplace.

The promise of snow on car windows -

white, vanishing.

Seven Things I Will Always Remember

16 July 1973, Northern General Hospital, Emma.

A psychiatric ward, occasionally sympathetic.

Easter 1960, the sun shining for me.

The empty house when he left.

Disneyland Paris, with Mickey Mouse.

The day I left Ireland, tables and chairs on the Liverpool streets.

My dad holding me safe to the saddle,

letting me go.

Reasons To Be Cheerful

2008-10-09T09:56:00.003+01:00

Happy National Poetry Day!

The day started early. Ann Atkinson (Peak District Poet Laureate) and I were interviewed on the Shane O'Connor Breakfast Show, BBC Radio Derby. Ann has written a brilliant poem for Shane (a self-confessed poetry sceptic) which she read on air to much applause. Ann and I are promoting poetry in our Village of Two Laureates - Grindleford - and will be joining local writers for poems & coffee at the Maynard at 11 a.m.

Today and all week you can send free poetry e-cards to your loved ones at the National Poetry Day website.

I have in my hands my brand new pamphlet 'The Purpose of Your Visit', published this week by Smith/Doorstop. It has a dazzling magenta cover, and I've surprised myself at just how proud I feel :-) Oh and it's for sale!

If you're in Chesterfield from 5.30 - 7pm today pop in to the library coffee bar, where myself, Janet and Ruth from the library will be dispensing after-work refreshment in the form of poems, tea and cakes.

So, many reasons to be cheerful. Have a great day, take time out for some poetry and here's a tip o' the cap to the late great lyricist, artist and poet Ian Dury.

Work, Rest and Play

2008-09-29T18:11:00.003+01:00

Apologies for blog silence - I've been on my hols (Isles of Scilly) where I wrote only postcards!

Talking of holidays, the theme for National Poetry Day 2009 (9th Oct) is Work. Check out the NPD website for free e-poems to send, and much more.

I'm reading in Swadlincote on 1st Oct, Hayfield on 2nd Oct, London (Troubadour) 6th Oct, Chesterfield 9th & 10th Oct, Sheffield 17th Oct, Buxton 21st Oct ... by which time I shall need a short rest. Email me for times & venues.

Well-Dressing and Beyond

2008-08-28T16:41:00.004+01:00

The children's writing sessions at Bradwell mobile are now finished. Thanks to everyone who took part especially Natalie, Shannon, Abbie and Suwannee, who added a line in Thai to our Magical Mobile poem.

The last crop of this year's well-dressings is in progress. Recently I came across the one pictured here, depicting a village in Nepal. Residents of Great Hucklow are sponsoring Kanchha Babu Sherpa, a Nepalese medical student who is studying at Manchester Uni. There's got to be a poem in that. I'm trying to work on a sequence about water and well-dressing, inspired by this and by the report in last week's Guardian about the UK water footprint (4,645 litres per person per day when hidden factors are included).

Poetry Olympics

2008-08-09T12:17:00.007+01:00

We were throwing the poetry javelins, and jumping the hurdles of rhyme and rhythm at Bradwell Mobile Library this week. I awarded several Certificates of Olympic Achivement. Acrostics were devised for some of the 33 Olympic sports (though Synchronised Swimming was a bridge too far) and a medal goes to Abbie (7) for this one:

Golf

Golfers on the green
Out of bounds
Lost and
Found.

A place on the podium for Shannon (11) for this advice:
How to Swim

Take arm-bands and a dive stick,
a blue swimming hat, lots of slides,
a friend, a spotty towel, goggles.

Don't take tears, a woolly hat,
chocolate, a black cat,
a walking stick
or a brick.

Choose a sunny day.
Mix it together.
Enjoy with chips and lemonade.

and to Eleanor (9) for this:
How to Cycle

Take:
a helmet
your bike
a sunny day
a pump for your tyres

Don't take:
rain
fog
a computer
spaghetti bolognese

Mix well.
Add a force of wind
and a nice breeze.
Serve with raspberry ripple ice-cream.

I'll be in Bradwell again on 20th & 27th August. See you there for more poetry action ...
P.S. 'Reading The Game' is the August theme for the National Year of Reading 2008

Wells, Whales and Words in Bradwell

2008-07-30T18:49:00.009+01:00

There are four well-dressings being prepared at Bradwell this week. I'm in residence at the mobile library (on Wednesdays 2-4pm: catch us on 6th, 20th and 27th August) with free, fun writing activities for young people. Lots of people dropped by (including visitors from Kent, Oxford and Canada). There were some cracking contributions to the Watery Words poem -

A shiny shark shows his sharp teeth (Leo, 5)

A friendly frog found its baby floating on a lily flower (Bryn, 7)

The kingfisher catches a catfish in the cold river (Edward, 9).

The children's well-dressing theme is Jonah and the Whale. Here's what the whale had to say, as imagined by Edward:

That fish tasted so bitter. I'm not meant to eat fish, I'm only meant to eat krill but I had my mouth wide open when I ran into him. He felt hard like a stone. Now all I keep hearing is 'Help, Help, Help!'.

Here's more information and a calendar of well-dressings. Well dressing is not unique to Derbyshire, but almost all the wells dressed every year are within the county, or a short distance from the county boundary. The custom is going from strength to strength, greatly revived since the start of the 19th century, when only the Tissington well-dressing was recorded.

Ledbury Poetry Fest

2008-07-22T18:02:00.002+01:00

Congratulations to Matthew Rodger of Chesterfield, who's won Second Prize in the young persons' section of the prestigious Ledbury Poetry Competition, with Runaway.

A Lorryload of Laureates

2008-07-15T17:03:00.004+01:00

Despite torrential rain, a small but perfectly formed audience gathered in Southwell Library last week to hear the four of us. Good company to be in and a treat to hear Sibyl Ruth (former Birmingham Laureate) read A Song of Jean, which has just won first prize in the Mslexia poetry comp.

Southwell (pronounced Suthwell by some) has its own Poetry Festival (and an impressive Romanesque Minster - see pic). That night I dreamt that Ann Atkinson and I were organising a Poetry Festival in Grindleford... but don't tell anyone!

Poet of the Month (what's his name?)

2008-06-30T12:25:00.009+01:00

Recently I found Forgetfulness by Billy Collins on YouTube (you'll need speakers, or you can read it here), and there are several other poems in animated versions (you'll need Quick Time).

Collins is former US & New York State Poet Laureate, one of the best-selling poets over there and increasingly popular over here. I can read his books cover to cover, and usually laugh out loud. 'The Trouble With Poetry' is his latest.

Poets Laureate at Southwell Poetry Festival 9 July

2008-06-25T14:02:00.004+01:00

A chance to hear four Laureates - myself, Cathy Grindrod (former Derbyshire PL), Ann Atkinson (Peak District PL) and Sibyl Ruth (former Birmingham PL).

Weds 9th July 7.30 - 9.15 pm at Southwell Library, Nottinghamshire. £4 / £3 including glass of wine.

In Praise of Mobile Libraries

2008-06-11T12:46:00.003+01:00

I'm posting this on board MCV2, parked up near Pilsley Community Centre. Below is the poetic fruit of the morning, dedicated to Christina and Kay, library staff on the van today, and Jayne who manages the Derbyshire mobile library service. They - and many others who drive, staff and organise the mobiles - do a great job, and now I'm a bigger fan than I was already!

There's one kind of mobile
that will never let you down,
run out of juice or credit
and leave you with a frown.
It won't go out of fashion
and it's absolutely free,
coming soon to somewhere near you
it's the mobile library!

Lined with fiction and non-fiction
crime, biography, romance,
you can pick a famous name,
or close your eyes and take a chance.
While the traffic hurtles onwards
and the wind sighs through the trees,
take a step into the haven
of your mobile library.

From Bradwell to Newhall,
from Codnor to Darley Dale,
spot the stripey orange treasure troves
that wind through hill and vale.
Climb aboard the little mobies
or the luxury MCVs
and be welcomed with a smile
inside the mobile library.

They will move you to the past
and they can spin you into space,
driven by the friendliest folk
you'll find in any place.
Order any title, browse
for tapes or DVDS;
words whizz through the county
in the mobile library.

You can surf the internet
or read about the local fete,
meet your neighbours in the aisle,
have a natter with your mates.
From North to South of Derbyshire
in frost or summer breeze
discover poetry in motion
on the mobile library!

Lit Fest underway

2008-06-05T18:45:00.005+01:00

Yes, the biannual bonanza of everything book-related is in full-swing. Among gazillions of other events you can catch me and Cathy Grindrod (former Laureate) at Shipley Country Park for the Storytelling Festival on Sunday 8th June. We'll be writing poems to order and jumping through hoops of poetry fire.

I'm really looking forward to the premiere of 'More Glass Than Wall' the Bess of Hardwick oratorio that Cathy has written - with the help of hundreds of Derbyshire schoolchildren. It will be performed next week in Derby and outside at Hardwick Hall (fingers crossed for a fine evening).

Yesterday I was a guest of Buxton Library's Listening Group for people who are visually impaired. I read my own poems and played CDs of other poets (with more interesting voices than mine) among them Jenny Joseph, Ian Macmillan, and Seamus Heaney. Thanks to the group for inviting me and here's one we listened to, a favourite by the much-loved Scottish poet Edwin Morgan : Strawberries. (I can't find a recording by the poet on-line, but it's read here by Hamish Whyte (or you can get the Edwin Morgan CD through Derbyshire libraries!)

More peoms

2008-06-05T18:29:00.006+01:00

You can read the recent commissions - 'A Gem of a Place', and 'This Book' on the Derbyshire County Council Poet Laureate page (scroll to the bottom). In case you're wondering, I'm not responsible for uploading content, so have no control over typos. Peom is a good word, though. Perhaps it's a meditating pea ... almost as useful as a poem :-)

Artists in Rural Areas

2008-06-05T18:09:00.003+01:00

I've been too bloomin' busy to blog recently so here are a bunch of posts on what I've been up to. A few weeks ago I was in Market Harborough giving a presentation for East Midlands Artists in Rural Areas Network (EMARAN). I met some great people doing exciting things up and down the country, particularly Nancy and Richard from Aune Head Arts, Dartmoor, and more locally Debi Hedderwick from INdepenDANCE and Learning Through the Arts in Wirksworth and the crew from Derbyshire-based Babbling Vagabonds Storytelling Theatre.

Bowzer's Brilliant!

2008-05-16T12:23:00.006+01:00

The opening of Bolsover's refurbished library was celebrated in style this week with the premiere of a specially commissioned poem 'A Gem of a Place' (all 320 lines of it!) performed to great acclaim by Pam Mosley, Michelle Simpson, Dale Shaw, Steve Sowerby and Stewart Wood from Bolsover Drama Group. Thanks to them, to the library staff and everyone who contributed to the poem.

Hopefully the text and a recording will be available in the next few months. Please contact me if you'd like a copy.
No photo of the library on-line so here's a Bolsover sunrise taken by Anna Wakeford.

Spinning Down the Derwent ..

2008-05-03T12:23:00.003+01:00

.. is a community film project about the Derwent Valley Mills (a World Heritage Site) and the extraordinary history of the Lombe brothers, Richard Arkwright and Jedidiah Strutt - 18th Century entrepreneurs and catalysts of the Industrial Revolution. The group has been running writing workshops to develop the script for a drama-documentary and last week we worked together on 'Pulling the Threads of a Story Together'. Thanks to all the talented folk who came to the workshop at the old Chapel in Milford. I've now had a crash-course in this unique aspect of Derbyshire history, and am completely gripped by the subject matter. There's probably a good few poems in there.

Photo: Cromford Mill

A Word from Amy, Derbyshire Pet Laureate

2008-04-25T18:19:00.007+01:00

After much thought, and with the help of FKO, I've put paw to paper. I am available for mousings, purrshops and laps.

It's an art being Pet Laureat,

Curled up, looking like a fur hat.

Am I having a snooze

Or consulting my Muse?

You'll just never know about that.

Ilkeston Readers' Group

2008-04-18T17:39:00.008+01:00

Yesterday I was in Ilkeston at the invitation of the Readers' Group: a most enjoyable afternoon discussing poetry. I read a sequence about my father as well as some 'laureate' poems, and interspersed them with 'companion' poems by other writers, including Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden.

Thanks to all the members for thought-provoking questions, and for sharing insights and experiences.

Photo: Ilkeston Library (where the Readers' Group usually meets) from The Ilkeston Local History Society

My Family and Other Things

2008-04-16T13:23:00.003+01:00

This Friday 18th April I'll be at Buxton Museum to run a workshop for children 8+ and their relatives, based on the exhibition 'Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire'. We'll do a (very easy) quiz about the objects and pictures on display, and write about our own favourite things, pets and families. It's FREE but please book a place by contacting the museum: 01298 24658 or buxton.museum@derbyshire.gov.uk

Bolsover & Poetry

2008-04-10T18:37:00.004+01:00

I'm working on three Laureate commissions: a light-hearted number for the Derbyshire launch of the National Year of Reading and another for the new HeadSpace young reader's area in Buxton Library. The most ambitious is for the re-opening of Bolsover Library; a 'historical pageant' was requested and I've taken them at their word. The poem is 200+ lines and still growing. The Bolsover area is so unique that I can't find a way to write about it sparingly.

As well as researching the medieval town, the Jacobean castle and the profound legacies of coal-mining, I've discovered several poetry connections. The poet and playwright Ben Jonson (Shakespeare's contemporary) was commissioned by William Cavendish to write Love's Welcome at Bolsover for King Charles I's visit in 1634. William's second wife Margaret Cavendish was a poet and prolific writer of drama, philosophy, science fiction and prose fiction, one of the first women to be a professional author and be published under her own name.

On another note, I've also had the good fortune to meet the vicar of Bolsover Trevor Hicks, who turns out to be not only a poet, but the Canon Poet of Derby Cathedral.

And imagine my surprise when the poem sent by Poetry Daily for April 1 (not an April fool!) was this one, astonishingly prescient, and written in 1668, when microscopes had barely been invented:

Of Many Worlds in This World

by Margaret Cavendish (1623-1673)

Just like as in a nest of boxes round,

Degrees of sizes in each box are found:

So, in this world, may many others be

Thinner and less, and less still by degree:

Although they are not subject to our sense,

A world may be no bigger than two-pence.

Nature is curious, and such works may shape,

Which our dull senses easily escape:

For creatures, small as atoms, may there be,

If every one a creature's figure bear.

At their return, up the high strand,

If atoms four, a world can make, then see

What several worlds might in an ear-ring be:

For, millions of those atoms may be in

The head of one small, little, single pin.

And if thus small, then ladies may well wear

A world of worlds, as pendents in each ear.

Amnesty International Poetry Competition

2008-04-04T13:33:00.005+01:00

April 18th is the closing date for a national school's poetry competition inspired by the experiences of Irina Ratushinskaya in the former Soviet Union, Jack Mapanje in Malawia, and a number of detainees at the infamous American-run prison camp Guantánamo Bay - all of whom produced moving poetry, despite being banned from using pen and paper. Instead they used everyday objects such as toilet paper or disposable cups from their dinner trays to etch their words.

To reflect this, pupils are being asked to compose their poems on 'unusual' objects such as paper plates, toilet paper and clothes. What would you write on?

A Right Wreath of Laureates

2008-03-27T13:51:00.004Z

Congratulations to Ann Atkinson who's been selected as the second Poet Laureate of the Peak. Read her first laureate poem 'He talks about fishing the Derwent' .

We're lucky to have two laureates in the region and spookily enough, we live in the same village! We're both members of the wonderful Grindleford Writers' Group and are planning some joint laureateering activities in the next year or two - watch this space.

Begin afresh ..

2008-03-27T13:26:00.005Z

Thanks to Chesterfield Writers' Circle for hosting a fruitful and inspiring 'Poetry from Scratch' workshop last week. Several of us were quoting 'The Trees' by Philip Larkin, so here it is, read by the poet himself. There's an aura of light green around the silver birches outside my window. The moment before the moment described by Larkin, perhaps, but despite the snow last weekend (still visible on the Derbyshire hills) we're on the tipping point into spring.

Photo: Chesterfield's twisting spire

Leeds Writers

2008-03-15T15:48:00.004Z

Thanks to Leeds Writers' Circle for inviting me to lead a workshop today on 'A Sense of Place'. A wonderful location in the Carriageworks with a bird's eye view, and great writing inspired by various perspectives and locations in the city centre.

What about poems and a sense of place? Here's a well-known one by W. B. Yeats.

Photo: one of the owls that adorn Leeds Civic Hall

Poems & Yoga

2008-03-13T14:13:00.004Z

Tomorrow - Friday 14th March - I'll be reading at a benefit for Sheffield Iyengar Yoga Centre, 7pm for 7.15 start, 270 Burgoyne Rd, Walkley, S6 3QF. Tickets £5/£3 includes a glass of wine. There'll also be Bollywood Dancing and acapella from the Late Bloomers. See you there!

P.S. There's a write-up in the Sheffield Telegraph

Poets with a Kick, Doncaster March 8th

2008-03-05T15:37:00.007Z

Yes, we're in Donny for International Women's Day, as part of HotHouse 2008 reading at the Mansion House . Our friend the artist Jan Flamank has been working with community groups to design and make a cloak of women's passions, aspirations and talents. The cloak will be unveiled and 'launched' at 1pm and we'll be reading 2-3pm.

New! Chesterfield Open Mic

2008-03-05T15:09:00.004Z

Tony and Suzanne who came to the HMD workshop are setting up Chandler's Bards - a brand new - possibly the first? - open mic night for poets & writers in Chesterfield. Chandler's Bar, 8pm, 17th March. Be there - with a poem or a listening ear. More info from steel_phoenix@hotmail.com

Water, water everywhere

2008-02-18T18:23:00.004Z

This Friday 22nd February, 10 am - 11.30 am, I'm running a FREE writing workshop for 8-11 year olds in Buxton Museum: Dive into some of the watery exhibits and splash around with riddles and rhythms to create poems for the Buxton Festival Poetry Competition (theme: Water!) Booking essential - contact Buxton Museum, 01298 24658 or email buxton.museum@derbyshire.gov.uk

Last week I spent an inspiring morning at Buxton Community School with a brilliant Year 8 group writing poems to send to the afore-mentioned Poetry Competition (closing date 1st April, its FREE to enter - up to three poems -if you're under 19). Here are photos and links to the poems they wrote. Quotes from their feedback:

I didn't expect the workshop to be as fun as it was.

I learned more creative and effective ways to word my poems.

What was new was finding out that poems can be very different from each other... it has given me more confidence.

I learned that a poem is what you feel and never wrong.

Thanks to everyone who took part, and particularly to Andrea Wallace and Karey Lucas-Hughes for the great organisation & hospitality - toasted tea-cakes at break :-). Also thanks to Cathy Grindrod for her invaluable assistance and for the wonderful poem she wrote during the session.

Poems on the brain ...

2008-02-13T12:24:00.004Z

Most mornings I wake up with a random tune in my head: Waterloo or the Hallelujah Chorus (if I'm lucky). All this week, however, I've had a poem on the brain, thanks to my neighbour Rowan Rheingans (currently at folk music school in Sweden). By coincidence she has set Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost (see my blog entry for 20th Nov) to music. Miles To Go is the first song on her MySpace page (starts after 2 mins of intro). It's great - and what a good way to learn poems by heart! For thousands of years poems weren't written down, they were passed on through being sung and memorised.

Where do music and poetry begin and end? What other poems have been used in songs? Comments and links welcome.

Photo: Ottawa, Canada. (Today is glorious in Derbyshire - thick frost, sunshine but no snow in sight).

It's February! It's LGBT History Month!

2008-02-05T23:59:00.000Z

Thanks to everyone who came to Chesterfield Library tonight to read, share & discuss LGBT and other authors who have shaped our lives. Thanks for the writing, the instant poems and reminiscences: moving, entertaining and illuminating. Good to mull over questions such as 'Does reading matter to us?', 'Why are books by gay and lesbian authors important at certain times in our lives?', 'Does the quality of the writing matter more than the writer being gay?' and 'Are we drawn to writing that is inclusive and, in the best sense, humanist because of our experiences?'.

Here are some favourites by two writers who are poets first and foremost, and whose writing has given me inspiration, pride and courage. The Hug by Thom Gunn and XII (from Twenty-One Love Poems) by Adrienne Rich. The latter poem has a misprint on this link - 'worls' on the 14th line should be 'world'.

Check out other regional events for LGBT History Month.

Warning: Book Pushers in the Neighbourhood!

2008-01-25T12:17:00.000Z

Spontaneous applause for the Book Pushers, a group of young people based in Buxton, who, since 2002 (with successive intakes of 'Reading Activists') have been promoting, championing, extolling and blethering about books to audiences far and wide. They have a national reputation for being A Very Good Thing and this week, it's my privilege to meet and write alongside some of them. The current refurbishment of Buxton Library includes the new Headspace - an area designed for young people - part of a national project involving 20 libraries in 4 regions, that the Book Pushers themselves dreamt up and were involved in planning. (Their original name for the project was 'Book Bars' with themselves as 'Book Waiters'). Thanks also to Will Newman, Reader & Audience Development Officer for DCC, who started the whole Bookpushers phenomenon.

'Don't be a snob. Reading is for everyone, not just for posh or clever people - so don't look down on people for what they read, and don't be afraid to read what you want, not what you should.' So there :-)

Photo: Nick, Ben and a nice man in a suit

Imagine... Remember, Reflect, React

2008-01-17T22:13:00.000Z

Thankyou to the wonderful readers and writers who attended the workshop this evening to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day (January 27th). We were guests of Chesterfield Library's World of Words Reading Group, who have been reading Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky who died in Auschwitz in August 1942.

HMD is recognised internationally as the day to commemorate victims of all genocides and to explore wider issues of prejudice and discrimination. Together we wrote on the challenging subjects of persecution and loss, the resilience of life in the face of destruction, and the creative seeds of change.

Alongside some moving pieces by Chesterfield Young Writers, the writing produced will be on display in Chesterfield Library for a month from January 25th, as well as three poems I have been commissioned to write for the event.

Click here for more information on Holocaust Memorial events across the UK and to light a virtual candle of remembrance.

'This being human ...'

2008-01-11T11:38:00.000Z

January can seem bleak. Bare trees through a veil of rain. The buds waiting to break are easily overlooked. If your landscape looks desolate, or even if you're full of optimism, here are some poems.

Mary Oliver's Wild Geese - much anthologised and quoted; Derek Walcott 's Love after Love - a gentle invitation to patience; and The Guest House by the Sufi mystic Jelaluddin Rumi (1207 - 73) whose voice across the centuries invites us to meet life with radical acceptance.

I offer these in memory of Tony Williamson, a deeply caring and generous-hearted man, who I knew through singing together in Out Aloud, Sheffield's LGBT Choir. He died on 24th December and will be greatly missed.

A cold coming we had of it...

2007-12-24T14:30:00.000Z

Here's one for the season, TS Eliot reading his poem Journey of the Magi.

On a very different note, it was a poem (Twas the Night Before Christmas) first published by an anonymous North American in 1823, that is largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his mode of transportation, the number and names of his reindeer, and that he brings toys to children! Despite this revelation, I'm still hoping for a bumper stocking...

Happy holidays and a peaceful new year to all.

A Touch of Frost

2007-12-17T18:19:00.000Z

All week the Hope Valley has been etched with frost. 'Hoar frost', the dictionary tells me, is from Old English and means 'frozen water-vapour on vegetation etc.'

Frost At Midnight was written by Coleridge in 1798. It's long-ish but don't let that put you off. Reading poetry (the link will also let you download or listen to it) at this time of year can be a good antidote to pre-Xmas madness ...

Photo: Liz Jones

Poems for 6 +

2007-12-10T15:55:00.000Z

If you need a poetry present this Xmas you can't do better than Goblin In The Fridge - funny, imaginative and thoughtful poems for children (and smart adults) by my friend (he didn't even ask me to plug it!) and fellow poet Matt Black. Quizzes, games and much, much more for only £4.99. Here's a sample:
He’s got big green eyes that stare
and a head of wiry hair
but he's the goblin no-one sees
because he hides behind the cheese

and if you ask him “Are you real?"
the goblin cries “I’ll make a deal -
if you’ll believe in me
then I’ll believe in you…”

Poets Kicking In Nantwich

2007-12-05T13:35:00.000Z

If you happen to be near Nantwich, Cheshire this Thursday 6th December you can catch 3 members of Poets with a Kick performing at Nantwich Library, 7.30 pm. Nell Farrell and myself will be assisting Suzanne Batty in launching her new Bloodaxe collection The Barking Thing on her home ground. Hope to see you there!

Write On!

2007-12-03T18:05:00.000Z

If you are a young writer or aspiring writer aged 12 - 18 you are most welcome at Write On - Chesterfield Young Writers' Group. I've been working with this lively and prize-winning group for a year and it contains some of the most enthusiastic writers I've ever met! Read some of the group's work and find out how to join.

This week's poem is suitably rain-influenced: Watch Your Step - I'm Drenched by the Shadow Poet Laureate Adrian Mitchell (about time he put in an appearance here).
If you'd like an animated version try selecting it from this list.

Snow, Suddenly

2007-11-20T14:05:00.000Z

On Sunday evening Derbyshire was blanketed in the white stuff, and there's still some left on high ground. Snowballs and /or tricky driving conditions! It's a good subject for poems, here's a couple: Snow by Louis Macneice ('World is crazier and more of it than we think') and Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost ('And miles to go before I sleep').

This photo was taken near Buxton by Chris Barrow.

4 Poets Kicking with Aplomb

2007-11-07T11:40:00.000Z

Thanks to everyone who came to the gig on Sunday, in the bijou Lantern Theatre, a Victorian gem in the heart of Sheffield's leafy Nether Edge. Due to illness we were down to four, but Suzanne Batty, Anne Caldwell, Nell Farrell and myself were still kicking hard! Check out Suzanne's new collection The Barking Thing just published by Bloodaxe.

Autumn is waning but rural Derbyshire is stunning in its russets and yellows; if, like me, you've been trying to recall Keat's Ode to Autumn, here it is.

The 'Main Man' ;-)

2007-11-01T18:24:00.000Z

Andrew Motion read last night at Sheffield Hallam University. He was warm and inspiring and if I wasn't already converted to the idea of poet laureates, I would be now! His specially commissioned poem is highly visible on the side of the university as you walk from Sheffield station to the city centre, and passers-by can be seen gazing upwards at the shiny letters. One of the things he has done as national P L is to raise £2 million for the Poetry Archive, a treasure-trove of recordings of poets reading their own work. Poetry is meant to be heard aloud and this is a fantastic collection. Here's a much-loved poem by John Betjeman, and one of my favourites - Jackie Kay.

There's only a few days left of Off The Shelf, Sheffield Fest of Reading and Writing 2007. It's a wonderful mix of writers, workshops and book-related stuff. I will be reading as part of Six Women Poets with a Kick at the Lantern Theatre on Sunday 4th Nov. Tickets are sold out, but there may be returns on the door if you want to chance it.

Derwent Poetry Festival 27 / 28 Oct

2007-10-25T11:31:00.000+01:00

Templar Poetry are bringing some great local and national poetry stars together this weekend at Masson Mills, Matlock Bath, where Richard Arkwright built his showpiece mill in 1783 (now a World Heritage Site). Full poetry programme here. I will be reading a few poems on Saturday 3-4pm, at a free reading by poets included in the 2007 Competition Anthology. Hope to see you there.

Autumn Trees

2007-10-17T17:13:00.000+01:00

I was interviewed by the Derby Evening Telegraph yesterday. I must get used to being asked about my favourite poets. One of the names that popped into my head was 'Emily Bronte' but in truth I only remember reading one of her poems - 'The Prisoner' which we did at school (quite appropriate for the miseries of teenage-hood). I looked at some of her other poems hoping to find one about Autumn, but most of them are wintry in the extreme.

The closest I can come to an Autumn poem is one I've recently written about a tree I sent off for (a small one - to plant in my garden!) after collecting tokens from a few gallons of yoghurt.

Today's factoid: Derbyshire Wildlife Trust are currently searching for the oldest trees in the county.

Planting the Rowan

Blackbird clacks day’s end through undergrowth.
A week past autumn equinox. We should go in

but keep on, half a cup of cold tea rain-flecked
on a stone, nettle-bites inside wet gloves.

Knees sag with mud, backache as yet benign.
A bramble gives. I’m flung back.

Lights along the row like honey toast.
Shouldering the drizzle, we’ve amassed

a heap of rot-stripped doors, roots, bucket rims.
Downhill from everything we’re nose to earth,

breath - raw damp clumps. A little more.
It’s painful to unbend, stretch to the last grey line

of light. I kiss you, plant the tree
whose bed is soft stroked loam. From inside

it will look so dark out here
we’ll wonder how we saw our way at all.

Launched!

2007-10-05T10:29:00.000+01:00

Cathy Grindrod (the previous Derbyshire laureate) and I were interviewed on BBC Radio Derby. The theme of this year's National Poetry Day was 'Dreams' and I had to come up with two lines which listeners could add to throughout the day. I had a few nightmares about those lines! Cathy's poems have been featured on Radio Derby this week.

After a long cross-county drive I arrived in Buxton for a double launch under the Dome (the former Devonshire Hospital, now University of Derby at Buxton): the new Buxton Poetry Competition, and my own launch as laureate! I read a new poem about the Tissington Trail. Thanks to Marjorie and Trevor for chatting with me about the poem afterwards and correcting my dates! It was also good to meet local writers, including Philip Holland, a poet and former dairy-farmer.

Laureate Lines features poems Cathy Grindrod wrote during her time as laureate. It contains extracts from her laureate diary and a selection of poems written by participants at poetry workshops. Copies are £7.99 and available from Derbyshire Libraries or Ali Betteridge, Literature Development.

Poet Laureate To Be

2007-09-29T12:51:00.000+01:00

Hello and Welcome! I've the honour to have been appointed as the new Poet Laureate for Derbyshire, succeeding Cathy Grindrod who's been wearing the laurels for the last two years. You can read about her achievements here

She'll be handing over the baton on BBC Radio Derby next Thursday 4th October, National Poetry Day

I'll be out and about flying the poetry flag in Derbyshire, meeting budding and established poets, reading my poems and running poetry workshops over the next two years. Look forward to meeting you soon!