Poet Zone
Paul Chapman was born in 1951 in Lincoln. After leaving school at 15 he took an apprenticeship as a chef then decided at the age of 22 that he could no longer work indoors and left to become a shepherd stockman.
He later moved to the Isle of Skye were he remained for 15 years. After taking on various jobs such as Bagpipe museum curator, fisherman and many others, he returned to England. Ten years later he bought a catamaran and left England on a one way trip. Sailing extensively through out the med he finally got washed up in the small Spanish town of Adra.
Throughout his childhood he was influenced by the writings of William Butler Yeats, Shelley and D.H. Lawrence. Later, as a youth, by the Liverpool poets Roger McGough and Adrian Henry
Paul now lives in not so genteel retirement in Spain with his partner Paquita. He spends his time writing poems, short stories, painting and playing music in the park, and throwing stones for the dog on the beach.
Paul works as a volunteer with the Spanish Red Cross, and often relates the poems he writes to the experiences of the homeless people he meets there.
Paul’s poetry has a poignancy that softly takes the reader on journeys and adventures. He demonstrates
a compassion for his subjects and this is especially shown with ‘Raining Sweets’ where the theme of the
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poem strikes the heart, as its horror is revealed. His versatility to also entertain is shown through the humour of ‘Special Offer for You’.
In addition to his poetry, Paul has kindly agreed for his paintings to be included in this article.