Biography
“One of the best poets in the country...” - Jimmy McGovern.
“Kevin provides that extra wow factor." Times Educational Supplement
I have worked extensively with schools and youth groups throughout the whole of the country. I was Writer-in-Residence in H.M.P. Birmingham (for the Arts Council of England) and H.M.P. Wymott (for both the Poetry Society and the Gulbenkian Foundation), appeared as a character in a novel and had a poem included in “The Lakes” by Jimmy McGovern. I have run poetry workshops and given readings in schools, prisons, community centres, libraries, hospitals, universities, cafes and pubs and am able to run workshops for people of any age or ability.
EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE :
English and Drama teacher for sixteen years + Lecturer in Creative Writing (Liverpool University, Dept. Of Continuing Education for ten years.
Have also worked as a writer in Schools for, amongst others, the Poetry Society, Sefton EAZ and Top of the Tree as well as assorted community arts projects, local libraries etc.
Currently completing a project working with looked after children for Whitewood and Fleming.
MOST RECENT PROJECTS :
Nano Diaries (Whitewood and Fleming) Working with looked after children aiding them to write poetry and scripts for short films.
Gig in the Garden (Whitewood and Fleming) Again, working with looked after children aiding with the writing of song lyrics.
Behind the Front (Blackpool Heritage, Blackpool Central Library, Lancashire Archives) Ran writing sessions, one-to-one surgeries with writers + edited final book.
Writer-in-Residence for Anxious Times (www.anxietyuk.org.uk) Contact Catherine O’Neill (catherine.oneill@anxietyuk.org.uk) for details.
PUBLISHING CREDITS:
The Trouble with Wings (Toulouse Press, 1982)
The Waiting Game (Poetry Minibooks, 1985)
Mirror, Mirror (Other Publications, 1993)
The Bear (Blue Cage Books, 1995)
In with the Shrink (Driftwood Publications 2003)
I Killed George Formby (Erbacce Press, 2008)
Some of Us (Erbacce Press, 2011)
I also write for children and has had work included in 30 anthologies, the most recent being :
Love, Hate and my Best Mate (Wayland, 2004);
The Works 5 (Macmillan, 2006);
The Poetry Store (Hodder, 2006);
Scary Poems to make you Shiver (OUP, 2006);
The Works 6 (Macmillan, 2006);
Poems About Water (Evans, 2007)
The World at Our Feet (Macmillan, 2010)
Puppy Poems (Macmillan, 2011
As Editor :
Beautify the Nation (Toulouse Press, 1992);
Perfectly Acceptable (Liverpool Libraries,1992);
The Isle is Full of Noises (Caliban Books, 2002);
Script editor of From Dawn to Dusk by Kevin Paton – premiered at the Bluecoat Chambers, Liverpool, Oct 17, 1997.
Commissioned by Macmillan to provide a detailed review of translations from the Armenian of poems by Razmik Davoyan
Other :
Articles for Anxious Times (www.anxietyuk.org.uk) The Literacy Club (Aston Hill Publications); Literacy Time (Scholastic); UK Writer (The Writers’ Guild)
Devised a series of On-line interactive writing frames for Scholastic
Broadcasting :
Poems and short stories on Radio City, Radio Four, Radio Five, Radio Merseyside, Red Rose Radio, World Service, B.B.C TV; Nothing Rhymes with Poets (Liverpool Big Screen, 2005)
Video :
The Lakes by Jimmy McGovern (B.B.C. Videos, 1998).
Recording :
The Contraries (Third Stone Records, 1996); Poetry Now (Sampler C.D. 1996)
Performance:
Readings in both England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the United States.
Awards :
Joint winner of the Booktrust’s Writing Together Teacher Writer Award, 2006.
Professional Bodies :
Full Member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain; Artists Licensing and Collection Society
“One of the best poets in the country...” - Jimmy McGovern.
“Kevin provides that extra wow factor." Times Educational Supplement
I have worked extensively with schools and youth groups throughout the whole of the country. I was Writer-in-Residence in H.M.P. Birmingham (for the Arts Council of England) and H.M.P. Wymott (for both the Poetry Society and the Gulbenkian Foundation), appeared as a character in a novel and had a poem included in “The Lakes” by Jimmy McGovern. I have run poetry workshops and given readings in schools, prisons, community centres, libraries, hospitals, universities, cafes and pubs and am able to run workshops for people of any age or ability.
EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE :
English and Drama teacher for sixteen years + Lecturer in Creative Writing (Liverpool University, Dept. Of Continuing Education for ten years.
Have also worked as a writer in Schools for, amongst others, the Poetry Society, Sefton EAZ and Top of the Tree as well as assorted community arts projects, local libraries etc.
Currently completing a project working with looked after children for Whitewood and Fleming.
MOST RECENT PROJECTS :
Nano Diaries (Whitewood and Fleming) Working with looked after children aiding them to write poetry and scripts for short films.
Gig in the Garden (Whitewood and Fleming) Again, working with looked after children aiding with the writing of song lyrics.
Behind the Front (Blackpool Heritage, Blackpool Central Library, Lancashire Archives) Ran writing sessions, one-to-one surgeries with writers + edited final book.
Writer-in-Residence for Anxious Times (www.anxietyuk.org.uk) Contact Catherine O’Neill (catherine.oneill@anxietyuk.org.uk) for details.
PUBLISHING CREDITS:
The Trouble with Wings (Toulouse Press, 1982)
The Waiting Game (Poetry Minibooks, 1985)
Mirror, Mirror (Other Publications, 1993)
The Bear (Blue Cage Books, 1995)
In with the Shrink (Driftwood Publications 2003)
I Killed George Formby (Erbacce Press, 2008)
Some of Us (Erbacce Press, 2011)
I also write for children and has had work included in 30 anthologies, the most recent being :
Love, Hate and my Best Mate (Wayland, 2004);
The Works 5 (Macmillan, 2006);
The Poetry Store (Hodder, 2006);
Scary Poems to make you Shiver (OUP, 2006);
The Works 6 (Macmillan, 2006);
Poems About Water (Evans, 2007)
The World at Our Feet (Macmillan, 2010)
Puppy Poems (Macmillan, 2011
As Editor :
Beautify the Nation (Toulouse Press, 1992);
Perfectly Acceptable (Liverpool Libraries,1992);
The Isle is Full of Noises (Caliban Books, 2002);
Script editor of From Dawn to Dusk by Kevin Paton – premiered at the Bluecoat Chambers, Liverpool, Oct 17, 1997.
Commissioned by Macmillan to provide a detailed review of translations from the Armenian of poems by Razmik Davoyan
Other :
Articles for Anxious Times (www.anxietyuk.org.uk) The Literacy Club (Aston Hill Publications); Literacy Time (Scholastic); UK Writer (The Writers’ Guild)
Devised a series of On-line interactive writing frames for Scholastic
Broadcasting :
Poems and short stories on Radio City, Radio Four, Radio Five, Radio Merseyside, Red Rose Radio, World Service, B.B.C TV; Nothing Rhymes with Poets (Liverpool Big Screen, 2005)
Video :
The Lakes by Jimmy McGovern (B.B.C. Videos, 1998).
Recording :
The Contraries (Third Stone Records, 1996); Poetry Now (Sampler C.D. 1996)
Performance:
Readings in both England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the United States.
Awards :
Joint winner of the Booktrust’s Writing Together Teacher Writer Award, 2006.
Professional Bodies :
Full Member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain; Artists Licensing and Collection Society