"New Forest Monarch" - New Forest Collage Radio and Hope Springs Eternal

I wrote "New Forest Monarch" for New Forest Collage Radio's exhibition at SpudWORKS on the edge of the New Forest (2025).

The poem was inspired by a white stag I met while out walking. He and I communed for minutes. It was a moving experience.

NFCR filmed my performance of the poem. This film was exhibited in Berlin ahead of the SpudWORKS exhibition.

Since then, I performed the poem at Sonder Salisbury (Close Poetry) in June 2025 and at the poetry concert "Hope Springs Eternal", a collaboration with musician Miranda Dodd.

It was wonderful working with Miranda. We produced an hour long concert performance at the local church. The concert was arranged as a series of calls and replies. Miranda and I alternated roles. When Miranda's music called, I wrote a poem in reply. When my poem called, Miranda selected music in reply. Always we performed together. The music and words made space for each other.

We had a gorgeous audience. The Broad Sheet gave us a great review! (Thank you)

Please see a little promo film below, which I made for Instagram and TikTok.