Writing Poetry

Tutor: Paul Henry – Poet/Songwriter

Paul Henry came to poetry through songwriting and is the author of eleven books of verse, including The Brittle Sea: New & Selected Poems. Described by U.A. Fanthorpe as “a poet’s poet” who combines “a sense of the music of words with an endlessly inventive imagination”, Paul has tutored Creative Writing for many years and is a Writing Fellow at the University of South Wales. He has read and performed his work at festivals across Europe, India and the USA and is currently touring a performance version of his new collection, The Glass Aisle, with Stornoway frontman Brian Briggs.  He’s also presented programmes for Radio Wales, BBC Radio 3 and 4. www.paulhenrywales.co.uk    

“Henry is working at the core of lyric poetry, with love and loss and the ‘deeper river’.” – The Poetry Review 

“His poetry deepens our perception of the world.” – Hugo Williams

On Boy Running: “An obsessive look at time and all the loss it carries… Henry’s rich, wise and regretful poems should be better known than they are and this is a good place to begin.” – The TLS 

“Boy Running is a good place to start on Henry’s poetry, if you don’t already know it, then work backwards for a sense of the power of melancholy and that untranslatable word, ‘hiraeth’.” – The North

On The Brittle Sea: “The Brittle Sea spans a sleek twenty years. Gesturing equally backwards and forwards, it marks Henry’s quiet rise as a major lyric poet while whetting the appetite for what is sure to be a very rich later career.” – The Poetry Review 

“This is a beautiful, moving book concerned with a preservation and celebration of the past: poignant, yet unsentimental. It is a must for fans of Henry’s work and a thoughtful selection for readers coming to his poems for the first time.” – New Welsh Review

“Paul Henry is the poet I wish I could be. If I ever meet a genie and get three wishes, I’m asking for his musicality, his use of back-story and his ability to create the most haunting resonance.” – Sheenagh Pugh

Photo: Zed Nelson

Guest, Wednesday evening: Fleur Adcock – Poet

Fleur Adcock was born in New Zealand but spent the years 1939-47 in England and has lived in London since 1963. Her books of poetry, all published by Bloodaxe Books, are: Poems 1960-2000 (2000), Dragon Talk (2010), Glass Wings, (2013), The Land Ballot (2015) and Hoard (2017).

She has also published translations from Romanian and medieval Latin poetry, edited several anthologies, including The Faber Book of 20th Century Women’s Poetry, and written libretti and texts for a number of musical works. In 2006 she was awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry.

Photo: Jemimah Kuhfeld

Single – En-suite room £760
Single – Shared bathroom £710
Shared Room (2 Beds) £660
Non-residential (inc. lunch and evening meal) £500

Nearest station: Garsdale – direct line from Leeds.