After being asked when I had started writing poetry many times now, since my relatively recent “prolific production of poetry”, I have reflected back over my life for the answer.
The most amusing thing I was asked when I started was during a live interview with Joe Talbot on BBC Radio Sussex & Surrey in January 2015. Joe said about my then having written two books in 2014 “you are not exactly in the first flush of youth are you?” Ho ho but no I am not, having been a singer with a pop group in the sixties!
Well anyway enough of that, as I was reflecting back on how or when I started writing. The answer is from a very early age really, encouraged by my wonderful parents who were always laughing, joking and quoting lines of poetry, Shakespeare etc. so I always liked the written word and found writing it quite easy.
I wrote some songs for the pop group I sang with in my teens, little joky rhymes and ditties for work friends over the years, (some more appreciated
than others of course). Also I did the odd request from people or mostly subjects that emoted me.
During the late 1990’s I started to write poems in a trickle that was soon to become more like a flow about 2012. Moving to Eastbourne in 2013 I wanted to just join a small group of like minded people to share our poems on a low key basis. On finding Anderida Writers Group I was complemented on my poetry and the idea to be published was born…
About the time my first book called “Poetic Views of Life” came out I decided that if I could manage to sell just 60 books I would donate to the excellent Help for Heroes from sales. I chose this charity as my son was about to leave the army after some time and had served quite a lot in Afghanistan. To say I was relieved he was safe and uninjured was somewhat an understatement. Sadly many were not so lucky and there are now apparently around 175,000 with life changing injuries and conditions.
Poetic Views of Life (£4. 99p) came out on Amazon in April 2014, and I sold it at just £4.00. (I aimed it at about the price of a pint or drink). I am ecstatic to say at this time it has sold about 300 copies, not exactly a best seller but well above my 60 sales hoped for!
As I had continued writing poems, (about 160 in twenty months to date), my second book “MORE Poetic Views of Life” was published in October 2014, and with over 60 poems was double the size selling at £4. 99p. This October my third book “Reviews of Life in Verse” has just been published too, also at reasonable £4. 99p each with again 62 poems in it.
My brief “author career” has been successful beyond even my wildest dreams as I have sold approaching 500 books and raising nearly £1,000 for Help for Heroes. Not massive but this excellent charity is most appreciative and has just opened a new unit for our heroes with psychological and stress disorders. At this point I should add that my “aka” of “The Psychy Poet” is due to a career in mental health spanning nearly 30 years and having a degree in forensic Psychiatry.
During my eventful twenty months or so as poetic author I seen two of my poems published in the Daily Mail in 2014, two other poems have reached a National Final two years running and been published in Forward Poetry books last and this year. I was humbled to receive Eastbourne’s “Resident of the Month” for December 2014 nominated by the Eastbourne Herald who had done several articles on me. The award was for literary and charity achievements.
Add to that a now regular “The Psychy Poet Presents” slot of me reading a pre recorded poem out on Radio DGH Sunday Phil Masters show (between 10am – 1pm), following an appreciated live interview and poem readings last August, and I am a very happy bunny and Help for Heroes gets promoted well too!
I can be contacted on e mail = lw1800@hotmail.co.uk, mobile phone 07967 355236 or on my Facebook page “The Psychy Poet Laurie Wilkinson” for more information, poems or to buy my books. Amazon also advertises and sells all three of my books too:-
Poetic Views of Life ………. £4. 49p, (soon to be £4.99p)
More Poetic Views of Life….£4. 99p
Reviews of Life in Verse……£4. 99p
All my book sales ensure my donation to Help for Heroes