The Poetry Marathon

gary studley
garystudley

Hi All. My name is Gary and I am an artist, blogger, compere, publisher, spoken word performer, tutor & writer of both poetry & prose from England. Phew! Put like that it almost sounds like I can't make my mind up! But they are all linked so... In recent years I've undertaken lots of writing & performance projects for: The Canterbury Festival's Laureate Squad; blogged as the Poet in Residence at Canterbury's Roman Museum; created ekphrastic poetry collections with pupils & artists local to me; run workshops & performed in many events & festivals in Kent. I am currently involved with 3 poetry & prose publications: as illustrator for a WW1 anthology, The Bigger Picture : Reflections on The Great War, published by SaveAs Writers; as designer & writer of SoundLines, an eponymous, group anthology; and There Is Another Way, my poetry collection based on obsessive love; social justice & what's that out on the periphery. I will shortly be working on both text & visual based design briefs with the Canterbury School of Visual Arts & am currently working with The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, as playwright for Return of The Unknown Warrior, a community engagement project based on WW1 & remembrance. When not working with external groups, I belong to or co-run 3 writers groups including SaveAs Writers and my own group SoundLines, co-founded with my colleague, JL. In connection with these groups, I co-run & happily compere two monthly Spoken Word Nights in Kent, one at The Jolly Sailor in Canterbury & the second at The Lighthouse in Deal. In the case of everything above, I write & perform because I like to get people excited by the arts and because I have to & love to. It seems like the closest thing I get to understanding how I tick or being seen as I really am.