As I write this blog, enough time has passed to reflect on an invitation I received recently to speak at a local school in front of a large audience about my poetry and the inspiration I draw upon to write it. I’m not going to pretend that there weren’t any nerves or a slight feeling of trepidation in the run up to the talk . These feelings were ironic because this subject is what I want to talk about, I looked a bit deeper to overcome them and drew upon reserves I just needed to name.

I’ve quoted my father from one of his poems to title this blog partly because his words remind me of Nikos Kazantzakis and his well known quote that emblazons thousands of Cretan souvenir T shirts “I have no fear, I have no hope, I am a free man”. Both my father and Mr Kazantzakis featured in the “philosophical” part of my talk , if both could master their existential doubts then I could master mine was the mantra I used whilst fulfilling the invitation. The punchline is obviously that the talk went without a hitch!

The pupils I talked to were about to start a poetry module as part of their curriculum. I was introduced as “a real life poet” and pretty much given carte-blanche (within time restrictions) to talk about that ephemeral thing that some would say is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration or vice-versa e.g to write a poem!

As part of this I introduced my belief that we are all poets and proceeded to demonstrate how. The pupils had previously been invited to post contributions into 3 labelled and sealed boxes with 3 subjects , likes, dislikes and inspiration. It had been explained that after my talk about my own inspiration and philosophy we would be opening these boxes and exploring any of their own themes for use in an inclusive poem I would subsequently construct about the day. The message was a simple statement that all of us had made this ‘poem of the day’. This poem could then be shared at a later date.

My hope was that all would leave the talk feeling part of a poetic process that was valid and relevant for us all. I wasn’t disappointed. The content provided by the pupils displayed common human needs and wants but also resonated with much that I had been saying about our universal desire to communicate our hopes without fear of rejection. Going back to my father and Kazantzakis, I set out to model our poem into a medium that demonstrated our freedom to be authentic.

I’ve attached the poem here and am delighted to tell you that it will be discussed by the Year 9 pupils in their English class. Despite writing it, it’s the pupils themselves who fuelled it and I thank them and Culford School for enabling this event.