Poetry
It is as a poet that Haworth Hodgkinson is probably best known.
His first small collection,
A Weakness for Mermaids, published in 2007 by Koo Press, contains 25 poems carefully selected from
25 years of writing. Described by Calum Petrie as ‘a strikingly unconventional
journey through the author's mind’ and ‘an excellent example of what
can be achieved with an open-minded and dexterous approach to the English language’,
these poems represent a carefully crafted spontaneity, honed through the process
of reading them in public to many different audiences.
It is the performance aspect of poetry that is crucial for Haworth Hodgkinson —
how a poem communicates when it is read in front of an audience — and this
interest has led him to become a founding member of two quite different groups involved
in the presentation of poetry in public.
Dead Good Poets
began as a vehicle for occasional charity readings, and has grown into Poetry Aberdeen, a popular regular monthly event in Aberdeen,
where guest poets are invited to read their work, and the open mic slot allows new
and established poets alike to try out their latest material in front of an enthusiastic
and responsive audience.
The Blue Salt Collective
takes what might seem a more radical approach, in which the poetry of the founder
members and their guests is delivered in a carefully structured sequence accompanied
by projected images, live music and dance.
Poetry by Haworth Hodgkinson has also appeared in a number of anthologies. The most
recent of these have been No One: Poems for Peace (2009) published by Malfranteaux
Concepts to mark Armistice Day, Journeys (2009) published by Lemon Tree Writers, There's a Bairn in My Broth (2008), There's a Poem in My Soup (2007)
and
Sex in the City (2006), all launched by Dead Good Poets at
Wordfringe events, Huntly Writers' Spirit of the Deveron (2008), and Spinners and Spoons (2005), compiled
by Lemon Tree Writers
to accompany their appearance at WordPlay — the Shetland Book Festival.
The poem The Birds of Kellie Law came
joint second in the Breaking New Ground writing competition judged by George
Bruce in 1994, and is included in the collection Breaking New Ground published
by Aberdeenshire Council in 1998.
Several of the poems reproduced here have also been published in literary magazines
including Pushing Out
the Boat, Storm, The Broken Fiddle and New Writing Scotland, as well as in The Lemon Tree Magazine.
Haworth Hodgkinson has read at many events and festivals, including Word (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010) in Aberdeen,
Wordfringe (2006,
2007, 2008, 2009) in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, the Aberdeen Arts Carnival
(2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008), WordPlay — the Shetland Book
Festival (2005, 2006), Thirsty Lunch at the Edinburgh Fringe (2004, 2006),
the Pennan Arts Festival (2003, 2006, 2009), the COAST Festival Fringe
(2008) in Banff, the Àrainn Shuaineirt Book Festival (2007) in Strontian,
the See, Salt and Sound Festival (2008) in Aberdeen and the Fraserburgh Heritage
Fair (2009).
|