Documenting the life of a community poet
Sunday 14th May was International Dylan Thomas Day with some wonderful events happening across Wales, the UK and beyond. I love Dylan Thomas’s lyrical approach to poetry (and life) and so being invited to be part of the celebrations was an honour. It can be too easy at times to get caught up in all […]
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I’ve become obsessed with Llyn Tegid again. It hits in waves so that I dream of her often until the need to pay a visit becomes overwhelming. This lake of myth has woven herself more tightly into poetry and workshops over the years and I wrote more about her on a Dark Mountain blog recently […]
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It’s Easter Saturday and I’m on the train home from Cardiff where I’ve been performing alongside writers I have a lot of respect for including Clare e Potter, Dan Tsu and Philip Gross for All That The World Allows. The event, held in Bute Park, was part of a Tree Charter project organised in association […]
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In the past week I’ve been to two diverse and inspiring poetry events. Perhaps diverse isn’t exactly the right word as from the surface they will have looked very similar: a room of around 30 people sitting with wine or tea, a guest poet, an open floor… but both offered exactly what I need right […]
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When I think about why we create it seems like an insanity. Producing any form of literature must be the most futile existence: the months and years of work and craft that go into writing a novel or poetry collection can feel as if your intestines are being forcibly removed and piled onto a plate […]
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Today was a lovely lovely workshop to finish off a mini-work-stay in Cardiff. I was invited by Literature Wales to work with year 9s at Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni in Blackwood as the class recently won the Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru Cipio’r Castell slam award. The winning poem, performed by four hugely talented young women, […]
Read MoreI was recently asked to write a piece responding to a derogatory article written about Wrexham in the Spectator back in the 1800s. This poem is called We Are Wrexham and seeks to embrace all the elements and people that make up this crazy old town. On Sunday I filmed it with the wonderful crew […]
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It’s just gone 7.30am and I’m on the train to Cardiff. The spring sun is pale and ethereal in a blue-wash sky and I’m looking forward to a busy three days of planning, manuscript edits and workshops. Maybe this sounds clichéd but I’m still pinching myself that this amazingly multicoloured and sprawling piece of knitting […]
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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it is to be a community poet. Stitching it into poems, I’ve tried to understand the compulsion to go and work with community groups – to face the judgements of strangers and still feel the need to share poetry and the spoken word. I often feel apprehensive […]
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So the poetry collection Rebel Sun is out soon through Parthian Books. I’ve got some lovely extras to grab with the first editions – check out the IndieGoGo page for more info and to preorder. Much love and thanks! Sophie
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