Poet-In-Residence

I’ve been on tour!  Three trains a bus to get to Mildenhall, stop #1 on my visit to various venues across Norfolk and Suffolk, all organised by the ace Creative Arts East!

Wed & Thurs this week, I set up a little camp in Mildenhall Library fuelled by many teas.  I chatted to locals, anyone popping through, browsing books or using the Library’s services.  By request, wrote a poem on any topic they’d care to mention, which led me to write about the NHS, Great Expectations, Argentina, the Lake District and sharks.  On Thursday, I visited a Primary school and did some poems for the kids, who I think loved my dancing more than my poems!  Then on Thursday afternoon I performed Letter To The Man (from the boy) in the Library and got some lovely responses and stories from the regulars.  I never thought I’d hear a story of hashcakes in a little lovely place like that!

There’s some naturally odd about a man offering to write people poems…and it does set people on edge.  But at the same time, they like to offer me a challenge, and it becomes an exchange between me and the ‘customer’.  I’m not going to say it gives them totally agency in the art, I’m the one writing it after all.  But it shows the accessibility of art, the heart within the roughness of scribbling ideas and notes to create something special which they are part of and have input.

I shall be returning on tour to a variety of venues across Norfolk!  The details are below, if you live round there come down, have a pint, I’ll make you a poem!

The Cellar House: 2 Eaton St, Norwich, Norfolk NR4 7AB Date of first visit: Monday 18th November 2013 Date of second visit and performance: Monday 25th November 2013

The Peddars Inn: 70 The Street, Sporle, Norfolk PE32 2DR Date of first visit: Friday 22nd November 2013 Date of performance: Friday 29th November 2013

The King’s Head: The Street, North Lopham, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 2NE Date of first visit: Saturday 23rd November 2013 Date of performance: Saturday 30th November 2013

The Lord Nelson: Hale Road, Bradenham, Norfolk, IP25 7RA Date of first visit: Sunday 24th November 2013 Date of performance: Sunday 1st December 2013

(here's a poem written for a girl who had seemingly read half the books in the Library already!)