Pages within the Poetry and Prose section:
Including this page, the poetry and prose section is split into six main sections:
- Main Poetry and Prose Section;
- Poems from A - C;
- Poems from D - J;
- Poems from K - S;
- Poems from T - W;
- Poems from X - 9.
For anybody with the same transport obsessive streak as myself (or just plain nosy), the pieces are categorised in the same fashion as the stands at Ashton-under-Lyne bus station between 1985 - 1994.
In the Beginning
My original reason for writing poetry came about as an extension of my visual work. At the time, I thought that 'building Utopia' through drawings alone weren't enough. It was at this time I decided to start writing poetry.
Knock-on Effects
What was originally an exercise in creating a verbal Utopia became one of self-disclosure. Coinciding with recent awareness on my Semantic Pragmatic Language Disorder, I was able to write about myself more. I was able to show emotion throughout my works which were hard to describe in conversational forms.
Most of my works cover a range of subjects from autism spectrum disorders to public transport and autobiographical themes. As a poet, I see myself more as an observer 'from above', like an alien from a spaceship over the Pennines. Most of my pieces come from subconsciousness, imagination, intense research and personal experience. Another favourite field is parody and satire.
I am able to explain myself more eliquently in written form than in conversation. In conversation, I am most happy speaking about my pet subjects, with little thought. Anything outside of public transport, computers, the Electric Light Orchestra and Supertramp, and Stalybridge Celtic requires more thought.
Live Performance
Since June 2003, I have been involved in a Stalybridge based creative writing group. The group, People's Performance were formed as 'People's Poetry', as part of a gallery in Stalybridge, the People's Gallery. In October 2003, we became independent of the People's Gallery and renamed ourselves People's Performance.
On a personal note, I have performed my own pieces live with this group in Stalybridge, since inauguration. Venues have included the Q-Inn and the gardens of the former town hall. I have also performed, albeit rarely, pieces by other poets to provide an alternative view.
Since 2005, my poetry has been heard at lectures featuring persons on the autism spectrum like myself. For example, 'Celebrating Differences' was read in front of 200 people at one of Donna Williams' lectures in Sheffield. A lecture at Sunfield School (Lower Clent, Worcestershire, near Stourbridge and Hagley) has included three other pieces. Present during that lecture was fellow poet and Australian author Wendy Lawson.
