It’s National Poetry Writing Month. (Seems like a good excuse for a blog post!) I was having a bad night. I thought about Plath (luckily I can conjure up some of her lines, in my head) and wrote a poem about living with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). PMDD is an endocrine disorder affecting about 5%Continue reading “NaPoWriMo 2022”
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Dreaming of fast cars and barbecues …
We can virtually taste summer! And here’s a sample taste, in the form of the final 2 poems of the school year, from St Birinus School Poet Laureates, Ianto Cater (year 7) and Elliott World (year 8), who I’ve been mentoring this year. My thanks to both of them, for their inventive and colourful work,Continue reading “Dreaming of fast cars and barbecues …”
Let’s fly!
Welcome to the last Poet Laureate poem of the school year: ‘Fly’ by Larika Jones (year 8) It’s a fitting title, as time has completely flown and I sometimes wonder what the impact of our restricted living, due to the series of lockdowns here in the UK, has had on our personal perceptions of time?Continue reading “Let’s fly!”
‘We whisper to the dawn’
It’s arrived! The brand new anthology from the talented young poets at Didcot Girls’ School is finally here… “We go out for cold air, hoping there will be some/ we wait for the tiny tune of the ice cream van.” From ‘Today’ by Claire Hague This anthology brings together new poems and flash fiction, writtenContinue reading “‘We whisper to the dawn’”
Writing/right-ing Injustice
It’s time again to share the latest poems from two of my young mentee poets: Ianto Carter (year 7) and Elliott World (year 8), who are this year’s Poet Laureates at St Birinus School. They’ve created two impactful and uniquely different poems, for their latest commission. When I read World’s poem in particular, I feelContinue reading “Writing/right-ing Injustice”
Starting point for a poem
Our Didcot Girls’ School Poet Laureate, Larika Jones, has been writing away, behind the scenes, working on her latest poem. Each term, I give the Poet Laureates I work with in schools, a new commission. Typically a single word, it becomes the point from which they grow a poem. I always encourage them to startContinue reading “Starting point for a poem”
Time is playing tricks on us
How can it possibly be almost Easter, already? High time, then, for a quick update on my work mentoring young poets in schools… My Didcot Girls’ Young Writers’ Group on zoom has been an absolute delight and a safe, creative haven for our talented students. Our Poet Laureates have also been going from strength toContinue reading “Time is playing tricks on us”
Contact: new poems by the SBS Poet Laureates
‘Contact’ was the last commission given to Ianto Carter and Elliott World, this year’s Poet Laureates at St Birinus School. It feels like a relevant and timely theme to reflect on, as England continues in national lockdown. It continues to be a struggle to maintain enough contact with others. And how much social contact isContinue reading “Contact: new poems by the SBS Poet Laureates”
Poets of 2021
I’d like you to meet the Saint Birinus School new Poet Laureate team: Ianto Carter and Elliott World. They’ll be writing back to their experiences, thoughts and the world in general, over the course of this year, with me guiding and mentoring them in their writing. I’m already excited by the way Ianto and ElliottContinue reading “Poets of 2021”
Writing through UK lockdown: DGS Poet Laureates
It might be lockdown here in the UK, but the writing goes on, and we need it, more than ever! I’m delighted today to share with you the new commissioned poems from our Didcot Girls’ School Poet Laureates, who have been reflecting on the theme of ‘contact.’ Writing these poems has given Myfanwy and LarikaContinue reading “Writing through UK lockdown: DGS Poet Laureates”
Elaine Baker - Poet 