Karl Merrick: All Things Folk
If you love all things regarding the traditional arts scene you would surely have bumped into Karl at one event or another in the Moseley area. He is all things folk in a living being: the music he plays, the poetry he writes and the way he dresses. Karl is a regular performer at open days and special events at Sarehole Mill, and he can be seen performing songs and music at the Traditional Art Events at the Prince of Wales in Moseley. He also performs regularly at a plethora of open mic events. One of his recent poems is currently in the Pre-Raphaelite Society Journal, of which he is very proud. Karl has always enjoyed poetry since childhood and even won a certificate for a poem when he was in primary school. This love of poetry flourished when his academic studies took him to The Romantic period of the 18th and 19th Century, a period of time that
still fascinates him today. Karl is studying for a PhD in Pre-Raphaelite Poetry at Birmingham City University. Karl has always had a strong love of music and performed glam rock and punk as a teenager. The historian in him developed with age, taking him further back in time on his search for the traditional folk music of England. This has led to him learning to play a wide variety of instruments including the guitar, banjo, appalachian dulcimer, autoharp, ukulele, mandolin, concertina and harmonica. Karl is also known to sing a Murder Ballad every now and then. Karl has recently formed a duo with Kate Akars and I have seen them perform at the Station in Kings Heath - they are well worth hunting out if you enjoy traditional folk music. Until that time, you can see them perform on their own Facebook page and YouTube channel. 22
www.moseleyb13.com
