Bit odd?

Well, for me September brings the start of a new year working with young writers, at Didcot Girls’ and elsewhere. And I get excited about the new students that I’ll meet. The new writing that they’ll make. The new ground that we’ll ‘break’ together, on our mentoring journey.

My head also gets busy with ideas: what am I gong to bring to Year 9 in our precious poetry hour together? Which aspects of poetry do I want them to experience and experiment with? Which mind blowing poets do I need to introduce them to?

(At this point there’s usually an avalanche of poets/poems/techniques/techniques that I’d like to bring to the workshop table…aaarrrggghhh TOO MUCH CHOICE!)

I will eventually decide. And I will savour the planning and selecting process.

In the meantime, here’s a throwback to summer 2018, when 3 of my talented mentee poets won awards at this years Oxford Poetry Live competition –

!st Prize winner, Kat Richards