Since 2014 I have been combining my day job (visiting schools) with studying on the new Writer/Teacher MA at Goldsmiths. I have been doing modules across the English and Education departments, and have turned my attention, amongst other things, to short story writing, an academic study of the state of contemporary American children's poetry, and a qualitative analysis of the impact of poets' roles in schools. My dissertation was supervised by Stephen Knight, and is a collection of poems intended for an adult audience, along with a critical commentary. I am pleased to say I handed it in today. Unlike my children's poetry, I've no idea whether much (or any) of it comes up to a publishable standard. Here is a poem from the collection. Enjoy!
David
I
never knew him. He died
of
lung cancer before I was born.
He
was an alcoholic too.
He
passed all the exams
at
medical school, but not
in
the correct order, so he never
qualified
as a doctor.
His
wife never knew this.
He
used to get up early
every
morning, put on a suit,
say
goodbye, and wander the streets
before
going home at night.
Meanwhile
his wife would sit inside,
unstitching
the labels
on
his Marks and Spencer jumpers
and
sewing Harrods ones
in
their place. She’d listen
for
his key in the big oak door,
and
when he returned,
without
a word, they’d put
on
a record and dance a dance,
the
same one every night.
