Inspirational English, Issue 42, Jan/Feb 2018 Inspirational English, Issue 42, Jan Feb 2018 | Page 11

Continued from previous spread
You live in one of the most beautiful
English counties. How have the Yorkshire
Dales stirred your creative imagination?
From the window where I write, I look out over
convent grounds in which there are a little lake
and I am surrounded with deciduous trees and
Ilkley Moor is in the distance. I have wild
ducks that visit my home regularly from the
lake and many other creatures of the natural
world. I am very aware of the differences in
the seasons and the weather and I suppose
this helps me to write my nature poems.
This issue explores the theme of
“authenticity” and I believe it is of great
importance for a writer to be authentic.
How much of your real life and beliefs is
depicted in your poems?
When I was a child, the Second World War
was on. We didn’t have the books, games
and, of course, TV that the children of today
enjoy. We had to do lots of make-believe
games, and invent our own stories. This
probably helps with children’s story-poems. I
am a Christian and many things in the
Christian message also are important in other
religions. So the poems in my
spiritual/thinking section of my work, will reflect
this. I hope that the poems will lead to
discussion within the classroom and will help
to bring unity in the world. This is important to
me.
that art form for what it is. As humans we
Writing poems is a beautiful way to use learn from those whose work we enjoy. I think
words. Many English teachers encourage that perhaps there is too much emphasis
their students to write poetry. In your made on getting young children to write poetry
opinion, what is the golden rule when (which, if done well is very difficult), rather than
creating poems? just listening first and then reading poetry and
I believe that in order to foster a love of an art absorbing it in its entirety. We were never
form, one should familiarize oneself and love taught to write poetry at school, but I believe I
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