Writer | Poet | Video 

Bio: 

I’ve always loved poetry but didn’t write my first real poem until around 2014, after a long hiatus I started writing again in and around lockdown. I’m not a prolific writer and only ever write when something sparks my imagination. This can be wide and varied, I’m eclectic in my style and subject matter.

You will find his work in:

Book 10: (2024)

1. Escape p82

2. I sit in the corner p83

3. New year p84

4. Take me to the woods p84

V10 book voted:

1. Round Here - Graham Rhodes

2. Zennor Field Trip - Rosie Beal

3. Discovery - Keith Lesser

4. Through the darkness - Keith Lesser

5. Trace my skin - Mary Elizabeth Down

Reviews of v10:

1. Round Here, pg40

I like this Poem as I see it as a juxtaposition to living in Cornwall, “there's a price for everything”, “every day's an adventure in a nightmare paradise”. It also speaks to me of the general problems modern day town life and the failing of social norms and constructs, made worse by recent governments.

2. Zennor field trip, pg63

I like this poem for the visualization I get on my mind when reading, especially how the wild ragged moors and cliffs give way to the more mundane of Cornish life, the pub and how all pubs seem to be doing the same thing, panini's and pesto… Cornwall becoming less Cornish and more London’esq

3. Discovery, pg80

This is about hope to me!

A somewhat sister poem to ‘Through Darkness’. Its looking more at the positives and the beauty of findings one's place in the world, and how one person's place can be very different for example it talks about submission, ropes that bind, and kinks embrace, all things far from the societal norms.

4. Through the Darkness, pg81

All I can say about this is I get it, we've all been there. The second Stanza hits home hard on a personal level and nothing more needs to be said.

5. Trace my Skin, pg87

This is simply love, passion and eroticism with metaphor a plenty… it reads well, in my opinion, with my other choice Discovery.

Over the past years of writing I've been awakened to the more erotic and Darker style of writing and this stokes the fire further.

V11 Book voted:

1st - Pg32 (Two Brains, One Battle from the body of a Survivor)

2nd - Pg36 (I Am Not What Happened)

3rd - Pg123 (Elavéne's Lament)

4th - Pg28 (Ascea)

5th - Pg74 (Tango Dream)

v11 Reviews:

Pg32 (Two Brains, One Battle from the body of a Survivor)

This struck a chord with me right away, I too "carried weight like armour", and after recent health issues have had to go along the difficult road of weight loss. Although not anorexic some of the things mentioned in this poem hit hard and I could understand exactly what the poet was trying to convey and the struggles they faced. A memorable piece of writing and one I will come back to, until I too can find "peace --- in the mirror, in appetite, in night", just wonderful words throughout.

Pg36 (I Am Not What Happened)

Although a poem written from the survivors standpoint I like how this poem turns around everything that happened to them and points to the positive that came out of the other end. How they fought and didn't let the negatives against them hold them back, but instead helped them thrive. No matter how long the battle lasted they came through in the end, as is evident in very last line of the poem, which states "I'm everything they couldn't win".

Pg123 (Elavéne's Lament)

From this poem it is clear the author was a submariner, but that only adds to the sheer delight of the poem. I like the way it is written from his perspective, as the poem says in the first lines " he sailed not on the waves, but under. A man of pressure, shadow, thunder".

The clever use of metaphors are plenty in this poem and they help set the scene and carry the poem/story along.

Pg28 (Ascea)

I like this poem due to the evocative nature of the words and the imagery they build. As I was reading I could picture things clearly in my minds eye.

Pg74 (Tango Dream)

Another evocative poem with fantastic imagery. Not a dancer myself, but an avid fan of 'Strictly' I understand that the tango is a dance that needs such words.

I feel they also capture perfectly that moment of dancing wish a special someone, when there is just the two of you and you are in THAT moment, as the poem states so eloquently "the world retreats, we are aware only of each other". Simple but, oh so effective.