Poetry
It is as a poet that Haworth Hodgkinson is probably best known.
Tractor Bastard,
his second collection, was published in 2012 by Malfranteaux Concepts and launched at the New Words festival.
His first collection,
A Weakness for Mermaids, was published in 2007 by Koo Press. 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 grew 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 include Love Poems for Valentines (2011) published by Malfranteaux Concepts for Valentine's Day, Armistice 2014
(2014), Remembrance (2011), Enough (2010) and No One: Poems for Peace
(2009) published by Malfranteaux
Concepts to mark Armistice Day, Frost on the Tassie (2014) and 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
Weaving Words
(2013), 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, Northwords Now 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, 2011) in Aberdeen,
Wordfringe (2006,
2007, 2008, 2009) in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, New Words (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014) 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 (2008, 2012) in Banff, the Àrainn Shuaineirt
Book Festival (2007) in Strontian, the See, Salt and Sound Festival
(2008) in Aberdeen, the Fraserburgh Heritage Fair (2008, 2009), the Pittenweem
Arts Festival (2010), Magical Moray (2012) in Forres, the Stoney Stramash
(2012) in Stonehaven, National Poetry Day events in Huntly (2012, 2013),
Demented Eloquence North in Aberdeen (2012, 2013) and solo shows at Backhill
Bothy, New Deer (2013, 2014).
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