POETRY GUIDE
THE TED HUGHES PROJECT
WeLL Spoken
South Yorkshires own Ted Hughes Festival 3rd -5th July.
New monthly spoken word poetry event at Doncaster’s Brewery Tap.
Ted Hughes (1930-1998) is one of the greatest poets of the English Language and, almost 20 years after his death, is still a towering presence over the poetry world. But how many people are aware that Hughes lived in Mexborough for the most formative period of his life and that the town played a key role in forming him into the poet of his subsequent fame? Hughes developed his literary interests in Mexborough and wrote his first poems there. It was as a 16-year-old boy at Mexborough Grammar School that Hughes resolved to become a poet and two years later, as a sixth former, he had already become the darkly charismatic presence the literary world would become familiar with. As man and poet, Mexborough made Ted Hughes, although you would be forgiven for not being aware of this fact. As Ian Parks, another Mexborough poet, has said, it is as though Hughes’s Mexborough period has been “airbrushed from his biography”.
November saw the first event in a new venture to bring spoken word performance to Doncaster on a regular basis. Judging by both the turn out and the audience reaction, it looks as if it’s here to stay. Doncaster Brewery Tap has only been established in the town centre for a year, but has quickly become established on the performance circuit due to the enthusiasm of proprietors Ian and Alison Blaylock. This event attracted a refreshingly diverse collection of performers, including several members of Church View Writers, an informal group hosted once a month by acclaimed songwriter and radio presenter Ray Hearne.
Well, a group of local writers, poets and enthusiasts are writing Hughes’s Mexborough period back into Hughes’s biography. Led by Steve Ely, whose forthcoming book, Ted Hughes’s South Yorkshire: Made in Mexborough, tells the story of the importance of Hughes’s Mexborough in full detail, the Ted Hughes Project (South Yorkshire) is planning and developing a number of events to commemorate, celebrate and develop Hughes’s legacy in Mexborough. Supported by Dominic Somers and Ryan Madin of Right Up Our Street, the Ted Hughes Project aims to develop a Ted Hughes Trail in and around Mexborough, based on key locations related to Hughes’s life and works, and will run the inaugural Ted Hughes Poetry Festival in Mexborough over the weekend of 3rd-5th July. The Ted Hughes Project group meets monthly at the Mexborough Resource Centre (next meeting - Wednesday 15th April, 7pm). New members will be made very welcome. No special knowledge or literary expertise is required – just an enthusiasm for Ted Hughes, Mexborough and the arts. Steve Ely The next Ted Hughes Poetry Festival Planning meeting will be held on Wednesday 15th April at the Mexbrough Resource Centre Dolcliffe Road S64 9AZ (Photo credit: Courtesy of Steve Ely. The photo shows Hughes (with hat and suitcase) in his starring role as Lighthouse Keeper David Charleston in the Mexborough Grammar School production of Robert Ardrey’s Thunder Rock, 4th April, 1947.)
For the uninitiated, the format is typically similar to a singaround, with performers taking it in turns to deliver a short set of poetry, prose or other lyrical composition, usually self-penned. From Linda Jones’ pinsharp reflections on the seasons to Henry Cryer’s semi-autobiographical recollections of family relationships from his youth, from Ray Hearne’s songs of wit and wisdom detailing the landscape of his home town to Phil Sheppard’s genuinely hilarious children’s verse (which nevertheless had the grown-up audience eating out of his hand), the result was an evening that was constantly entertaining and thought-provoking. Spoken word nights have gained a foothold on the performance circuit in many towns and cities across the country in recent times, and Doncaster certainly deserves its own to showcase the rich diversity of literary talent in the vicinity. It looks as if it has found a home. The next Spoken Word event at the Brewery is scheduled for the 2nd of April. If you fancy performing, contact Mick Jenkinson at: mjenkinson@sjenkinson.co.uk If you are interested in joining a writing group, or would like a little more info about it, contact Ray at: ray@nomasters.co.uk
Mike Jenkinson (Photo Credit: John Fuller ©2015)
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