12th May - Why You Should Buy My Book!

So, it's official. I'm launching my own book of poetry this Summer, and the project I've been working away on for 6 months in private, can now finally be unveiled to the World. Before I get to the nitty gritty, I'll give you a little background on my poetic history. I think, like most (or at least, I thought it was 'most' at the time), I felt an immediate affinity towards poetry, even from the age of 4 or 5. Those early school days rhyming simple words fascinated me. The fat cat sat on the mat, etc. I loved how creative you could be with words, and as time evolved, so did my natural progression in the art. Humorous limericks were a fave through those 'silly' 9 and 10-year old years, before my interested were spiked to a whole more serious level at Secondary School.

You see, I had this teacher, Mrs. Amos was her name, and she had this special kind of fascination with me from the off. Partly influenced by the fact she was also my form tutor, but she was an English teacher by trade, and could immediately spot the natural talent I possessed. At this time, I had so much raw ability but didn't really now how to harness it. I'd flirted with the idea of becoming a children's book author, before Mrs. Amos suggested my talents - she felt - would best suit journalism. She was harsh on me, often ridiculously so, but I look back now and realise she did it to keep me on my toes. For example, I'll always remember when she dropped me from the 'top set' in English, placing me in the 'mid set' for a term. Every pupil and teacher within the school knew I had a talent not seen through the classrooms of that building for generations when it came to wordplay. So how could I now be lumped in with those who mixed up their 'they're' from their 'there', and their 'their'? It was outrageous. It was unfair. 

She saw that I'd become unfocused. Taken my ability for granted. Happy to slide into an amalgamated life of talent, yet equal desire to play the class clown, or to have typical teenage 'banter' with classmates. Her move buckled me down in the way she'd hoped. I worked twice as hard and twice as fast to escape the boisterous dinlos who surrounded me, and had no interest or passion in this art-form. I'd attend her 'poetry club' classes after school every Wednesday, using an hour of my free-time to delve into classic poems with her, including Wilfred Owen's iconic 'Dulce Et Decorum Est', a poem which really cemented my love for the genre. Later, at the age of 16, we were reunited again when it was confirmed that she'd play the role of my A-Level tutor for English Literature. Here, we studied Keats and her own personal favourite, John Donne. I remember her oozing back into her chair in sheer delight, loudly shrieking to the class with joy when she asked me to stand up and read out my poem from the 'erotcism' category, in which I waffled some vague metaphor about wanting to bake my bread in a warm yeast-filled oven. Was I a genius of erotica poetry at such a tender age, or just a horny teen wanting to get his end away? I'll let you decide. 

Shortly after completing my A-Levels, I was asked to by senior producers at E4 to write a comedy script for a sitcom, and the first person to message me on Facebook was indeed Mrs. Amos. "That's my boy... Knew you'd fly!", she remarked. She got in touch again a few years later with similar well-wishes when I was nominated as the David Welch Young Student Sports Writer of the Year. This book of poems is something I've crafted with more than 20 years of poetry experience burning deep within my soul. Now, instead of just aimlessly producing pieces of art on random word documents and keeping them hidden on my laptop, I'm ready to bare my inner thoughts with the public. When the inspiration has found me, over the course of the past half-year, I've jotted my thoughts down and turned several of the most deep, and raw, moments of my life into poetry form. There are 10 in total, which is why I've titled this anthology 'TEN', and after months of searching, I was lucky enough to negotiate a business partnership with the superb ARTSYTICC, a brilliant female illustrator and artist who I've admired for some time. She hand-sketched the illustration(s) for each poem in this book, and I can't wait to reveal it in full detail to you all when it drops on Amazon/Kindle later this Summer. 'TEN' is not just a book of poems, it's a message of hope to allow every reader to express themselves in any way they see fit. To translate their feelings and emotions into poetry, and to then spill their truth to the world. I hope you'll buy this book upon release, not just for me...

... But for the millions of people whom it represents.