 Holidays are coming and one thing you can find at the West Orchards Shopping Centre Christmas Grotto is Jo Roberts’s storybook “A Coventry Night Before Christmas”. BBC’s Poet Laureate for five years now and a chairman of the Coventry Live Poets Society, Jo continues to campaign and raise awareness and interest in poetry and creative writing.
Plays, poetry, children’s books – you name it, she has written it. But her perfectionism has prevented her from publishing most of her work. “I write anywhere and everywhere. It’s like a drug. I write about anything and everything. If I had the money, I would quit my job and just stay home and write.” Along with another member of the society, she has written a radio play called “Reflections” which was broadcasted in local hospitals.
“I’m fascinated by the spoken word. You write differently when it’s for paper or for performance”, is how she explains her love for the radio. It was a dream-come-true when she had a regular program on BBC radio, where she used to read and listen to poetry for a whole hour. Now she would use any chance to get involved with the BBC and have some time on the air.
That is nowhere near exhaustive of her talents. She does everything – from copyright to poetry, plays and stories, from pottery to sewing and building a shed, and occasionally plumbing. “Anything creative I can go and have at it. I’m jealous of all those retired people because they have the time to do all these things that I don’t have time for.”
Right now, Jo takes part in the “Be Inventive” campaign to raise awareness of the creativity in Coventry. Her latest project ended with the biggest storybook in the world, filled with stories and drawings of the kids of Coventry. It is one meter long and 90 centimeters wide, weighs about 40 kilos and is wrapped in leather with gold letters.
In addition to that, she has all kinds of events lined up for next year. From a story-telling night and a poetry performance in the Herbert Arts Gallery to running a creative workshop for teachers and her own creative writing class, funded by her own salary. Not to mention an exhibition with visual artist Jo Roberts. “Sometimes I’ll accept a project and then start wondering why I took it as I have no idea how to do it. But if you say no, you miss out opportunities. Because if you say yes at the end of the day you’ve done more than if you sit there and watch. When I’m retired I will have time just to sit and watch.”
Web sources (information and image):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/content/articles/2005/09/12/poet_laureate_appointed_feature.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/content/articles/2005/12/20/jo_christmas_poems_feature.shtmlLabels: journalism |
