Conversations with Writers

Siobhan Logan is a storyteller and poet. Her first collection of poems and non-fiction, Firebridge to Skyshore: A Northern Lights Journey (original plus, 2009), was sponsored by auroral scientists at the University of Leicester. It was performed at the British Science Museum, the National Space Centre and Ledbury Poetry festival. Her second collection, Mad, Hopeless & Possible: Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition , was also published by Original Plus Press, whilst Philae’s Book of Hours was published on the European Space Agency’s website. Logan's poetry is widely published in magazines and short stories appear in various anthologies, including Wednesday’s Child (Factor Fiction, forthcoming 2020), Leicester Writes Anthology 2017 (Dahlia Books) and Mrs Rochester’s Attic (Mantle Press 2017). In 2014, she led a WW1 writing residency for 14-18 NOW and in 2015 co-edited a Five Leaves Books anthology for refugee solidarity, Over Land, Over Sea . She is co-director of i...

Emma Lee was born in South Gloucestershire and now lives in Leicestershire. She is on the committee of Leicester Writers’ Club and the steering group for the Leicester Writers’ Showcase. Her poems, short stories and articles have appeared in many anthologies and magazines. Some of her poems have been been translated into languages that include Chinese, Farsi, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Romanian. Emma Lee co-edited Over Land, Over Sea: Poems for those seeking refuge (Five Leaves Publications, 2015) and Welcome to Leicester (Dahlia Publishing, 2016). She has four poetry collections, The Significance of a Dress (Arachne Press, 2020), Ghosts in the Desert (Indigo Dreams Publishing, 2015), Mimicking a Snowdrop (Thynks, 2014) and Yellow Torchlight and the Blues (Original Plus, 2004). Her latest collection, The Significance of A Dress , has been described as "Poems informed by, and immersed in politics. Whether investigating the lives of refugees, fami...

Deborah Tyler-Bennett is a poet and fiction writer with eight volumes of poems and three volumes of short linked stories to her credit. She is currently working on her first novel, Livin' in a Great Big Way . Her new volume, Ken Dodd Takes a Holiday , will be out from King's England in 2019. Her poems have also been featured in anthologies that include Bollocks to Brexit: an Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction (CivicLeicester, 2019), Leicester 2084 AD: New Poems about The City (CivicLeicester, 2018) and Welcome to Leicester (Dahlia Publishing, 2016). In an earlier interview , Deborah talked about her concerns as a writer, and some of the influences she draws on. In this new interview, Deborah talks about her latest book, Mr Bowlly Regrets , and about poetry and politics: Do you write every day? I do write everyday: on trains; in cafés; in bars; at home; in other settings. I try and give myself a timetable between teaching Adult Ed creative writing, workshops, ...

Deborah Tyler-Bennett ’s forthcoming volume, Ken Dodd Takes a Holiday , is out from King’s England Press in 2019, and her first novel, Livin’ In a Great Big Way is in preparation for the same publisher. She also has two recent volumes from the same publisher – Mr Bowlly Regrets – Poems , and Brand New Beat: Linked Short Fictions Set in the 1960s (both 2017). She’s had seven collections of poetry published, some previous volumes being Napoleon Solo Biscuits (King’s England, 2015), poems based on growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s, and Kinda Keats (Shoestring, 2013), work deriving from a residency at Keats House, Hampstead. Her first collection of linked, 1940s set, short stories, Turned Out Nice Again came out from King’s England in 2013, and a sequel, set in the 1950s, Mice that Roared was published in 2015, Brand New Beat, set in the 1960s , represents the final part of the trilogy. In 2016, The Coffee House Anthology from Charnwood Arts marked the final volume of Coff...

As part of efforts towards setting up the East Midlands Poetry Library , we are putting together a catalogue of East Midlands poets and their work. Are there East Midlands poets you know of who should be on the list ? Can you add them to the list ? We are also aware that Black, Asian and ethnic minority poets are under-represented in how the literary landscape in the East Midlands is imagined. Do you know any Black, Asian and ethnic minority poets who should be on the list as well? If you are a poet, in addition to adding your name to the catalogue, please also respond to the questions accessible here .

Andrew Button is from Market Bosworth and has had poems published in various magazines including Orbis , Staple , The Interpreter’s House , Iota and Ink, Sweat and Tears . His pamphlet, Dry Days in Wet Towns , was published in 2016 and a first full collection, Melted Cheese on the Cosmic Pizza in 2017 by erbacce press . In this interview, Andrew talks about his writing: When did you start writing? From the age of fourteen I always wanted to be a writer. The late Liverpool poet, Adrian Henri, was an early inspiration. He was invited to my school to encourage pupils to write and perform their poetry. From the ensuing workshop sessions, an anthology of our poems was published and presented at a performance evening for parents. I suppose I started writing seriously for magazine publication in my early twenties. Adrian Henri and a very supportive English teacher convinced me that I had a talent for writing poetry and it progressed from there. This is going to sound like the ster...

The  East Midlands Poetry Library  is coming soon. Coordinated by groups and individuals that include  CivicLeicester ,  Conversations with Writers  and others, The Library will be like the National Poetry Library but based in Leicester in the UK. The Library will have a particular bias towards poets and poetry from or on or inspired by the  East Midlands . What you can do: ● If you have any suggestions on how we can make the library happen or if you have ideas on what the library can become, please email:  The Librarian . ● If you are you a poet, a publisher or a poetry events organiser based in the East Midlands, please get in touch, say hello, give us a wave. ● If you would like to be featured as part of The Library, please answer the questions  found here  and send your responses to us. (We will feature your responses on Conversations with Writers initially, and include the responses in East Midlands Poetry Library materials...

Bobba Cass grew up in the United States and was in the Peace Corps in Nigeria in the 1960s. An academic whose advanced degrees were in English Literature and Cultural Studies, he has been an activist in struggles against apartheid, racism in schools, nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. He organises Pinggg…K! a poetry event that meets monthly in Leicester for an evening of metrosexual open mic verse and a performance by a featured poet. He came out in his late 40s following a police entrapment arrest. In this interview,* Bobba Cass talks about the work he is doing. You are often described as a literary activist. What forms does this activism take? And, how has it been received? When I began coming out in the late 1980's and I experienced and welcomed the gentleness of other men, I began what I can only describe as 'hearing' a poetry which, in its intensity, was much more open about sensuality and sexuality than was then being published (much of this has chang...