Tag Archives: rhyme

Everyday should be National Poetry Day!

Last week the UK celebrated National Poetry Day.  Always one to join the band waggon late I thought I would have a lazy blogging week and share some of my older poems.

When I think about it poetry is a big part of my work.  From reciting poems in my storytelling to using epic poetry in drama and storytelling workshops.  For me the charm of verse is it’s form and immediacy.  I can write a 30 minute story or a four stanza poem.  The results can be very satisfying.  When I worked with Guilden Morden Primary School to tell the story of The Great Fire of Guilden Morden the sophistication of the children’s poetry blew me away.

Anyway here is the selection of poems I have chosen – other video can be viewed on my Youtube Channel.

My most popular (I recently passed 500 views) – this poem is a rethinking on Alfred Noyes’ “The Highwayman” from the viewpoint of one of the other characters.  I wrote it for a workshop exploring the poem.

 

My most furry – again here I am rethinking Julia Donaldson’s “The Gruffalo”.  In my version the Gruffalo makes the argument that he is the victim of the mouse’s lies!

 

My most anarchic – This is one of Lewis Carroll’s nonsense poem recited by the Mad Hatter.

 

 

My most classical – very few people who watch my version of Homer’s Odyssey would realise that I have remained true to the form of the original epic poem.  Whilst I have tinkered with a lot of the text to make its shorter (necessary when the original is 24 books long!) I have retained most of the introduction.

 

and just for fun… I have a background in parody and pastiche.  Here is my version of “Frankenstein” set to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”!!  I have also reworked Dracula and Jekyll and Hyde to the tunes of pop songs and some of the Canterbury Tales (I hope to record a few over the coming weeks).