The Galleon - Portsmouth's Official Student Newspaper

Portsmouth University students trump the locals as the city’s first Poet Laureate, KeliAnne B, who was chosen on February 7th (Charles Dickens birthday),is a Creative Writing and Drama student at the university.The honorary role is to involve writing poetry for events around the city and to encouragethe rise of both reciting andwriting poetry.

The birth placeof Charles Dickens and an idyllic coastal city, Portsmouth is the perfect place to encourage and inspire young, and old, to write poetry. At just 21, Keli has youth on her side to help interact with the whole community. Her role is to spread her love of poetry andher work around Portsmouth. Her passion for poetry is obvious and when talking to her shesays that she has been writing her whole life. “It’s something I feel I “have” to do – I’m sure many writers can relate to this”. She is “inspired by everyday life, by relationships with others andjust by realising that you cansort things out in your head justby writing them down”.

As well as writing and performingpoetry, she loves to readit. “Anything by U.A. Fanthorpeor Phillip Larkin is so easy toread and fun, and just readingtheir work inspires me to write”.Keli feels that the biggestbarrier with poetry is that peoplethink it’s boring or inaccessible.She feels “it is my aim tomake people realise that it canbe fun and it can be enjoyableand easy to understand”.

Shehas been working with Dom Kippinat Portsmouth City Counciland planning lots of things, butsays she “would love to get intoschools before World Book Dayand run a small workshop to getthe children inspired to write apoem to be performed at Guildhallon the day. I think they’dlove that!”

Her first step in the new roleas well as planning events hasbeen to write a poem that wasfilmed Monday 14th Februaryfor World Book Day. Shehas also signed up for a performanceand reading at the ConanDoyle event in the city Library,on the 21st February. She sayshowever, that “at the momentwe are carving out the role ofPoet Laureate as it goes alongbecause being the first ever onein Portsmouth means that we’rejust seeing what people wouldlike from me!”

Poetry is a major source ofexpressing your feelings anda great way to relax yourself.Keli advises any budding poetsto keep writing and “When youget that little idea or line for apoem at 2.30 in the morningwhen you’re comfortable in bed,make the effort to get up andwrite it down because there’s noway you’ll remember it in themorning! Get to as many openmic shows as you can, and makesure you ask for feedback onyour poems – creative writingtutors are especially great forconstructive criticism”.

Keli’s performance poetry isonline at youtube.com/keliannebor look at her myspace.com/kelianneb for more poems.She will also be headliningat the “Not So Royal VarietyShow” on Tuesday April 5that the Kings Theatre.