I previously provided freelance social media advice and coaching for self-employed people - specialising in artists and writers, but I am currently focusing on producing my own art. I have a wide range of experience. My passion is technology and I'm very interested in surface pattern design, symmetrical images, abstract watercolour, intuitive art, social media, blogging, website design, epublishing, digital photography, making videos and recording music.
On Monday I was happy to be visiting St Wilfred’s CE Primary School only 3 miles from where I live in Manchester. The day began in the hall where I gave a performance of poetry and music (great joining in from everyone) to the whole school. After that I joined Year 1 in their classroom where I played them ‘I Like What I Like.’ We then composed a version based on their likes and performed it together.
By the end of the day I’d spent time with every class in the school (EYFS through to Year 6). Loads of new poems got written – class poems, individual poems, poems written with a partner or in small groups (there was a class poem by Year 3 about a big golden bird – not sure where that came from! – which was performed to my guitar accompaniment).
Thanks to all at St Wilfrid’s for the fun and enthusiasm and for a well organised day that whizzed by. Hope to see you all again sometime.
It’s a tough job being a poet.
I’m surprised it’s not better paid.
Perhaps there should be guided tours of workshops
so non-poets can see how poems are made?
There’s no respite if you’re a poet.
You’re working all the time.
You have to get on it if there’s a call for a sonnet.
And people expect you to rhyme.
It’s more demanding than being a surgeon.
It’s harder than digging a road.
We deserve much longer holidays than teachers.
It can be stressful writing an ode.
We sometimes work until lunchtime
if we need to complete a quatrain.
Yes, it’s a tough job being a poet
but you’ll never hear us complain.
Remember a poet can be an enthusiastic inspiring addition to your classroom all year round, not just for National Poetry Day. If you’d like to know what I can do in your school, please contact me.
5th October is World Teachers’ Day. Here’s a poem for all the teachers out there.
Every Night Mr Miller Dreams
Every night Mr Miller dreams
of the day he will retire.
There’ll be a small party
in the staff room
during the lunch hour
and at final assembly
he’ll receive a major gift
from the whole school
plus presents
from individual pupils
who will be heartbroken
to see him leave.
Children, past and present
(some now grown up)
will file past to thank him
for being so inspirational
– for changing their lives.
In the evening
a large group of colleagues and friends
will take him out for drinks
and a meal.
There will be speeches
charting his impressive career
and praising his achievements.
I’ve recorded a poem today and Karen has turned it into a video. Hope you like it. Please share and don’t forget National Poetry Day on Thursday 2nd October.
You know it’s going to be a good day when a member of staff arrives just after you with a homemade cake. And it was good. The day and the cake.
Thanks to everyone at Airy Hill CP School, Whitby, for giving me such a warm welcome on Thursday and for contributing to a very rewarding and creative day. I started off by performing to the whole school and then worked with Yr1 and Yr2 where we did class poems. Each class did their own version of my poem “I Like What I Like“. I visited all classes during the day and we gathered in the hall to hear a selection of new poems before school ended.
The poem photographed below, based on “Stig of the Dump“, was written by Year 4/5W, their teacher and myself. I played some music on guitar and said I needed some words to go with it, and this is what they came up with:
My performance as part of St Johns Hall Gallery Open Day on 20th August
Well I know I have been featuring things that have been planned in Barmouth quite heavily, but I have to report that we’ve had a very stimulating and enjoyable 3 days now that they have all happened. Thanks must be made to Bernard Barnes, whose creative vision made it all happen.
On Monday 18th August the two poetry workshops at St Johns Hall Gallery, kindly funded by National Theatre Wales TEAM, went well and produced good work from some experienced writers and others that had never had a go at poetry before. That was followed by a very warm cosy ‘cakey’ evening in the Aber House cafe, which has relatively recently opened and is a very civilised place to have a refreshment break. Mary Howell read so well and put life into the dialogue with her different accents, from her novel Murielle’s Angel. My selection of poems seemed to go down well and even though an adult audience, I was pleased to get the audience participation to Ref Rap.
The procession made it’s way along the harbour, Barmouth
Tuesday was going to be a day of rest, but we ended up going up to the Gallery again to offer assistance with last minute preparations for the Open Day on the Wednesday and I found myself ironing on stage (fabric to make the clothes for giant puppets) and helping out with the tidy up. Followed in the evening by Music Night at the Last Inn, hosted so effectively by the talented Barry Lim (who also danced the Chinese Lion the following day).
Then Wednesday saw us tour through the town, in a magical procession and I got to take lots of photos of it.
One of the giant puppets passing the Last Inn, Barmouth
That was followed by a very varied programme of entertainment, of which I was a part, at the Gallery from 1-6pm (first image) and then a musical evening. All in all a very enjoyable and stimulating few days.
Barmouth is turning into quite the cultural hotspot, that I’m happy to be a part of. Not only am I on the bill at the Open Day of St Johns Hall Gallery on 20th August, and running two poetry workshops there on 18th August, but now I’m also performing in the evening of 18th August at the Aber House Café.
The event at Aber House Café will start at 7pm on Monday 18th August and is free, with the option of buying the usual café fare of drinks and cakes. I’ll be joining another Barmouth-based writer, Mary Howell, who will read extracts from her book Murielle’s Angel – a novel set on the Way of St James, the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.
I’m compiling a ‘set list’ mix of old and new poems to perform, some humorous, others thought provoking, and I’m looking forward to meeting a new audience.
I’m reliably informed that there will be Viennese Delights and the very special Tarta Santiago to tempt you (if the literary delights alone are not enough!). So if you’re in the vicinity of Barmouth on 18th August, I do hope you’ll join us.
Address: Aber House, Barmouth, Gwynedd LL42 1DS Map
Bernard Young Poet 