What I've Been Reading 7
The Fig Tree with its roots in Mexborough soil.
I often make the comment that Mexborough is the cultural epicentre of South Yorkshire. Sometimes I claim that it is even more important than that. Of Course, I am being light hearted when I say such things. Or am I?
Mexborough is a small town that from the 18th century has been linked to industries such as ceramics, glassmaking and coal mining. Since the terrible days of Margaret Thatcher, the place has been in economic decline, but there is a spirit there which has encouraged artistic endeavour and which makes it a very satisfying place to be involved with. Well known actors such as Brian Blessed, musicians such as Graham Oliver of Saxon, and poets such as Harold Massingham and Ted Hughes have all risen to prominence from Mexborough. And the recently established Fox Gallery, and restored Empress Ballroom are two venues which attract talent and visitors from far and wide.
Poetically, much of the impetus in recent years has been engendered by Ian Parks, a Mexborough man, who ran his free Read To Write poetry sessions in in the town for many years and has continued them in nearby Balby, for several more. He has recently announced that he will be stepping away from the project, but there is no doubt that the mark he has made on hearts and minds in the region is immense, and will last for a long time to come.
If it were not for Ian, I would probably never have taken up poetry with any drive or determination, I would certainly never have learned as much as I have learned under his influence and guidance. I would never started the Sixty Odd Poets project, and met the wealth of marvellous poets and poetry enthusiasts who have helped me to sustain it.
There are many others who have benefitted from his knowledge and enthusiasm. Too many to list here, but amongst them Is Tim Fellows, who, having heard about what was happening at Ian’s Read to Write meetings, travelled over from Chesterfield to see for himself and enjoyed what he saw so much that he has regularly made the sixty mile round trip to participate ever since.
Many people know Tim for his excellent Fig Tree Poetry Substack, which attracts top quality contributions from both well-known poets and those starting out on their publication journey.
Tim has built on the success of the Fig Tree by founding the Crooked Spire Press. which has published the work of a number of poets including a collection from Ian Parks, an anthology on Coal Mining, and two anthologies of poetry from the Fig Tree site. He has many other projects in the pipeline too.
A few weeks ago, I attended the launch of the 2025 Anthology, which was held at the Unitarian Church In Doncaster. It was a fabulous event, with some of the contributors having travelled long distances to attend.
One such was Mike Everley, who came over from Swansea and read, amongst other pieces, his Lines to My Father from the collection, a biographical poem taking us from his dad’s childhood battle with rickets to his latter day struggle with the darkened spot on his lung there because coal has a long memory.
In another biographical piece ,Stainless, Tim Buescher recalls an elderly relative who was found dancing around the living room to Bronski beat… despite this being the time of her decline.
Matthew Paul, another poet who has had a collection published by Crooked Spire, entertained us with a reading of Comedian’s Comedian from the anthology detailing the comic abilities of a lad from his school, headed by a quote from Bob Monkhouse - They all laughed when I said I’d become a comedian, well - they’re not laughing now.
The words kept on coming that afternoon, Claire Starling telling the tale of a windswept rainy Day at the Crazy Golf, Mick Jenkinson watching his weeds gleefully cast down seeds, and Victoria Gatehouse, reading her Forward Prize nominated Thunder Moon, poetically describing her scientific son as luminous as nitrogen.
Bob Horne was there too, another inspiring figure who has devoted immense time and effort to poetry, and has recently stepped back from the Calder Valley Poetry Press which he founded and has published some memorable collections including Ian Parks’ Selected Works, his translations of Cavafy, and volumes of the poetry of Harold Massingham and Mick Jenkinson. Bob is an excellent poet in his own right, and treated us all to a piece concerting a romantic episode from his own life in 1966 in The Last Bus.
With a little clicking, you can find the poems mentioned in this article, along with the rest of those in the 2025 anthology. But why not order your own copy. It contains over fifty poems from over forty poets which represents great value for money. At a price of just £7.00, you are paying less than 15p a poem.
There will be a further launch for the anthology, this time online, on Sunday 17th May at 7pm. You can order a free ticket here.
If you would like me to review something of yours, have a word with me, online or in real life. Sending me a PDF copy would be very useful. Alternatively, you might find more takers by sending it to Promote Indie Lit, a loose coalition of interested writers and publishers which offers a means to promote publications easily and without fees. There really is no cost or risk involved. What you send can only be seen by a small group of reviewers, and will not be shared beyond that group.
