THE WRITERS
Who have been inspired by Dickens (G to N)
TONY GADD (DURHAM)
‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…’
By anyone’s standards, Tony has had an interesting and varied career. Through poetry he visits his experiences, thoughts and feelings on the stuff of everyday existence which are relevant, interesting and thought provoking. Open, honest and not afraid to say what others avoid, he’s a voice with a unique perspective…
HARRY GALLAGHER (CULLERCOATS)
‘The Boy With The Broken Nose’
Harry Gallagher is widely published. His books include Northern Lights (2017, Stairwell Books) and Moulded From Ferrous (2020, Black Light Engine Room Press). Other credits include Smokestack Books, IRON Press, Interpreter’s House. Prole & The Poets’ Republic. He runs the Tyne & Wear stanza of The Poetry Society.
BETHANY GOODWILL (GILLINGHAM)
'You take your coat and leave'
Bethany Goodwill is a Medway-based poet and one half of the Rochester poetry night Big Trouble. Bethany's work has recently been published in Confluence and Anti-Heroin Chic. They write poetry about death and being in people's cars.
facebook.com/bethsbethsbethsbeths
bethany-jay.tumblr.com
SAM HALL (CHATHAM)
'Synonyms for Light Pollution'
Sam is a writer, mainly (though not exclusively) of plays and short stories, and a creative writing teacher. Short stories published in Dark London vol 1, The Medusa Project, Litro, The Blue Nib, Indie Bites vol 1, Confluence. Sam is currently drawing a graphic novel inspired by her play My Mind Is Free.
OZ HARDWICK (YORK)
‘Analogue Delay’
Oz Hardwick is a poet and academic, whose work has been published and performed internationally in and on diverse media. His Learning to Have Lost (IPSI, 2018) won the 2019 Rubery International Book Award for poetry, and his most recent publication is the prose poetry sequence Wolf Planet (Hedgehog, 2020).
MAGGIE HARRIS (BROADSTAIRS)
‘The best of times / the worst of times’
Maggie is a multi award-winning writer who’s performed her work internationally, and published several books. Her poem ‘Canterbury’ is an art installation in the city and the BBC commissioned her poem for Kent, ‘Lit by fire’. Latest collections: On watching a Lemon Sail the Sea and Mother Tongue (cd).
Twitter maggieharris@Maggie_harris54
instagram maggiepoet
www.facebook.com/maggie.harris
SARAH HEHIR (GILLINGHAM)
‘Glass Half’
Sarah is a playwright, poet and writer for The Archers and BBC Doctors. She is passionate about the importance of creative writing in the school curriculum. If she could draw, she’d be a graphic novelist and if she was technically-minded, she would be a pioneer in AR in live performance.
MARK HOLIHAN (BROADSTAIRS)
‘The last train from New Orleans’, For Andy
Mark Holihan, a writer, graphic designer and painter, is a former Californian who has now settled in Kent. His work has appeared in various anthologies and magazines and his collection There are no Foreign Lands, was published by Cultured Llama.
Twitter: @fromthebluehouse
PAULINE HOLMES (GILLINGHAM)
‘Then, Now’
Pauline Holmes is a post-menopausal performance poet based in Medway. She is the current Kent Poetry Slam Champion and has been published in Confluence magazine. She tackles subjects such as death, loneliness and adapting to change with warmth and humour.
RAY HOPKINS (SUNDERLAND)
'In The Mirror of the People You Hate'
Ray Hopkins was born, lives and works in Sunderland.
He is currently working on his first novel ‘The Kalinouski Tree' and first full length play ‘Bait Time’ – both due for completion 2021.
Twitter @rhayopkins
Ray also writes short stories, poetry and songs.
SM JENKIN (MEDWAY CITY)
'The double vision of Medway city'
SM Jenkin's work has been published in anthologies and magazines including Anti-Heroin Chic, As above So Below, Bloody Amazing, Boyne Berries, City Without a Head, Confluence, Dissonance, The Interpreter's House, Medway Festival Fringe, the Mermaid and Please Hear What I Am Not Saying. She is working on her second collection.
PHILIP KANE (CHATHAM)
'The situation is not good'
Philip Kane is a writer, storyteller and artist, and a member of the London Surrealist Group. His work has been translated, published, performed and exhibited from the USA to the Middle East. Philip's recent publications include Dramatis Personae (Whisky & Beards, 2019) and The Decipherment of Nature (Mezzanine Press, 2020).
KNUCKLES (BROMPTON)
'Medway Man's Big Night Out'
Knuckles is a poet from proper south London who now lives in central Chatham. His poetry deftly covers topics that call at stations like football, mental health, history and class. When not writing he’s studying at university with the aim of becoming Dr Knuckles.
Social Media handle : Bahadur Singh
BILL LEWIS (MEDWAY)
‘Buffalo Promise’
Founder member of The Medway Poets and The Stuckists. Performed and published in Europe and the Americas. Three Collections of poems are in print including volume one of Collected Poems. Former Writer-in-Residence at the Brighton Festival and Winner of the Literature Award at the Medway Culture and Design Awards 2012.
(Photo by Martin Wackenier)
KIRSTEN LUCKINS (HARTLEPOOL)
'King Lud’s Advice'
Kirsten Luckins is a creative producer/practitioner from Teesside. Her work centres on poetry from printed word to performance, erasure and text-collage. She is director of the Tees Women Poets collective and half of the Celebrating Change digital storytelling project. Her third poetry collection Passerine is available from Bad Betty Press.
Twitter: @ImeldaSays
Instagram: @imelda_says
(Photo by Spurious Nonsense Art Photography)
MARIA C. MCCARTHY (MEDWAY)
'There are things that you would have again'
Maria C. McCarthy was the winner of the Society of Authors’ Tom-Gallon Trust Award 2015. She writes poems and stories, and was a columnist for BBC Radio 4’s Home Truths. She has published three of her own books, and edited many others.
(Photo by Janice McGuinness)
JAMES MCKAY (GRAVESEND)
'Opposites Are One'
James McKay (rhymes with “tie”) lives at Gravesend, a small and ancient ferryport in Kent, a small and ancient county of a collapsing Kingdom. Likes: coffee, grammar, reading out loud. Dislikes: flags of all nations. Books available.
ROSEMARY MCLEISH (SELLING)
'Back Green Controversy' and 'Isolation Fantasies'
Rosemary McLeish was a poet and outsider artist who lived in Selling. She had two collections published I am a field and Defragmentation. She performed her poetry and took part in spoken word events for the last three years from Medway to Thanet and beyond. Runner-Up in the 2018 Poetry Book Society/MsLexia Women’s Poetry Competition with ‘Red Rebecca’.
JAKE NATHAN (ROCHESTER)
‘History’
Jake Nathan is a spoken word poet, writer and rapper from London. Now living in Rochester, he performs at poetry shows around Kent. Jake has been published by Anti-Heroin Chic and Thanet Writers. His poetry has been featured on BBC Radio Kent and on the Word Spoken Podcast.
Twitter: @poemsbyjakenathan
BRIDGET NOLAN (ROCHESTER)
'Cerebral City'
I am a writer and performer of poetry. I had pieces included in popular publications before having my first anthology of poetry, A Walk with Charles Dickens and Other Poems, published in 2018.
This piece was inspired by my love of Dickens and my interest in human behaviour.