The International Centre for Contemporary Poetry: Poetry Showcase

On Wednesday 23rd October the Oastler Building welcomed guests for what turned out to be a fantastic evening of poetry. Students and staff collaborated to firstly celebrate the recent appointment of Huddersfield as an International Centre for Contemporary Poetry and secondly, to act as a university launch for my debut poetry pamphlet, Keepsake, which was published in August 2019 by Maytree Press.

Steve Ely, Creative Writing Lecturer and director of the Ted Hughes Network acted as compere for the evening as well as reading some poems from his own collections, including Englaland (Smokestack, 2015) and Oswald’s Book of Hours (Smokestack, 2013). Head of Creative Writing, Michael Stewart, read from his recently republished collection of poetry, Couples (Valley Press, 2020). Fun fact, this collection was originally published on Valentine’s Day in 2013 as a form of ‘anit-valenitnes’. Both were incredible, and funny too!

Then, Third Year Creative Writing Student Abbi Senior read some of her own poetry, which was equally as fantastic. I concluded the evening by reading a selection of poems from Keepsake, which is largely about my experience of motherhood. The collection also explores anxiety, transition and healing.

It was wonderful to read at the University, particularly as it was my undergraduate English Literature with Creative Writing course which cemented my love for poetry and was the start of my creative journey and writing portfolio. The University provided wine and nibbles, whilst I provided copies of Keepsake. Staff, students and members of the public came along to support us. It was a lovely evening and a fantastic way to celebrate poetry itself, as well as my own work. The English Literature and Creative Writing department are in talks about organising a regular poetry night/ an event per semester to showcase the work of staff and students, so watch this space!