I have a calling to bear witness to people’s stories; to give to them a voice by sharing their experiences. I strongly believe that the truth is the most valuable word we have to use as an artist.

The person-to-person connection, through acts of bearing witness to the experiences of others, enables us to become alive as individuals and come together as communities.

I am the manager of the Cambridge Festival, the University of Cambridge’s annual two-week festival, that engages with the public about research at the University and its partner organisations.

At Cambridge, I also lead the Cambridge Words programme for Creative Encounters. This three – month mentoring programme enables researchers to enage with poetry. You can explore the work previously created for Cambridge Words here.

I also devised and deliver a creative writing masterclass for researchers at the University of Cambridge – as part of the Universtiy’s Engaged Researcher training programme. Previously, I have led poetry workshops for the Wellcome – MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, in partnership with Parkinson’s UK, and with schools in France & the UK.

In 2023 I launched a new poetry listening project – Poems in my Back Pack. This will share poetry recorded in its native language, as part as a search for the origins of poetry as an oral tradition. Poems in my Back Pack starts with the idea that all language begins as breaths slowly formed into words. In this way poetry was breathed into life.

If you are interested in discussing with me support for workshop delivery, mentoring, or taking part in Poems in My Back Pack, then please drop me a line.

You can read more about me and my writing at the Forward Arts Foundation – and about my writing workshops, mentoring and public engagment leadership here.

My poetry has been further published in the Forward Book of Poetry 2020 (Faber) and an anthology Smokestack Lighting (2022). It has been performed on national radio, performed by David on BBC Radio 3, and by musician and broadcaster Cerys Matthews for BBC 6 Music.