One of my personas as a writer is that of a children's poet. I love funny wordplay, silly rhymes and the enjoyment to be had from messing around with our language in different forms. I visit schools all over the north of England (I get invited to the rest but it's a lot of travelling so I prefer to stay local) and I write poems either when the urge strikes me / I am visited with inspiration or when a anthologist comes calling.
Unfortunately the last of these doesn't happen very often now. Twenty or even ten years ago children's publishers brought out several collections of poems each year by different poets on a theme but sadly there doesn't seem to be much profit in these books any more so like many publications they have died a rather sad death. I have contributed to about 15 or so in the past and I'm pleased to report that a new anthology is coming out in Jan 2012, timed to coincide with the Olympics.
When Granny Won Olympic Gold is a fun, light-hearted and varied collection from meister children's anthologist (and good friend) Graham Denton who runs the excellent Hands Up Books. This particular collection is published by A&C Black and includes four of my poems - and very silly ones they are:
Non-Olympic Sports I’m Good At
Peach volleyball
Mountain baking
Chocolate kayak
Marathon (eating)
Orange squash
Platelifting
The 100 litres (of Coke)
Ice cream hockey
Pieathlon
Unbelievable Sports Facts!
Tennis one more than nine.
Badminton is an evil form of goodminton.
If you go round a track twice on a bike you’re recycling.
Grasshoppers like cricket.
When wildebeest paddle small boats they’re gnuing.
Hearse racing is dead good.
Last year they compared all the motorsports and Formula won.
Crossing the Atlantic on a 747 is not plane sailing.
A donkey once appeared at the Badminton Horse Trials – it was found guilty.
Unbelievable.
Anyway, the book is now available on Amazon (here) and from all good bookshops and even a few bad ones. It only costs £3.49 or less so what are you waiting for? I wish Graham muchos successos with the book - he's an Aston Villa fan and so needs all the the support he can get...
