On Wednesday 22nd November, NWS member Lytisha Tunbridge will be launching her poetry pamphlet, Every Last Biscuit. We invited Lytisha to the blog for a quick chat about her writing and the context of the pamphlet (more on the launch event here).
How long have you been writing poetry and what inspired you to start?
I have always written poems. I recently found a book with Lytisha Tunbridge Age 9 Do Not Read written on the front. It was originally a school exercise book belonging to my Aunt, which had been passed through the family. It contained a love poem that my Granddad had written for my Granny, a housekeeping list which my Granny had written, some conjugated French verbs written out by Aunty Kay, and some poems about cats that I’d written once it came to me.
When I was very young, my Mum used to read me poems rather than nursery rhymes. So I grew up on a diet of AA Milne, Spike Milligan and Edward Lear.
Do you get involved with any of the regular poetry nights in Nottingham?
Yes.
I first got involved with performing poetry through diy poets, of which I am still a member. We have quarterly events at the Maze as well as other ad-hoc events.
I am also chair of Word Jam, the multi-cultural, multi-lingual poetry and music collective, who regularly perform at NWS and around the City.
I also enjoy Wired, Crosswords, Speech Therapy, and Poetry is Dead Good within Nottingham. There are also great events in Derby, Leicester, Rotherham and Sheffield, all not too far away.
What motivated you to put a collection of poems together?
I have three very different collections in progress, but I felt this one needed to be collated first. Every Last Biscuit is a collection of poems I wrote during an intense period of grief, following the loss of my Mum and brother within a short space of time. They are not all depressing though!
The other poems on other topics are still in progress, but I felt unable to move them forward until I had addressed these poems coherently.
Where do you find your inspiration?
Everywhere. Phrases I overhear. Conversations I have. Politics. Unicorns, Animals. Writing workshop prompts. Responses to other poems and art I encounter. Memories. Clouds. That kind of thing.
Any advice for budding poets who don’t know where to start?
Read some poems and see what you like. Attend some events and listen to what people say. Pick up a pen and just write. Nothing helps you write, like writing. Once you have written a while and found some lines you like, share them with other people. There is nothing as useful, or as difficult initially (but worth it), as feedback.
Do you have a favourite under-appreciated or lesser known poet or poetry collection you’d like to share?
When I was sixteen I came across a book by Fran Landesman called The Ballad of the Sad Young Men. Living in a house full of books, I naturally read books from everywhere else instead. I found this at a jumble sale and really loved it, because the style was something I hadn’t really come across before. A woman was writing about failed relationships, human foibles and lack of confidence in her own abilities. In fact, I pulled it out to check I’d spelt the authors name correctly and lost myself in it for 20 minutes. I’ve not looked at it for maybe a decade, but it’s on the table now.
The more influential discovery was Serious Concerns by Wendy Cope. I loved this book completely the very first time I read it. I was introduced to Wendy Cope by Jennie Down, and I read it aloud as she and Sarah-May painted the ceiling. I was delighted to have the opportunity to chat with her at last years Nottingham Poetry Festival. She was lovely and her reading was delightful.
Tell us a little more about the launch night for ‘Every Last Biscuit’?
It is Wednesday 22nd November at The Nottingham Writers Studio from 7pm and open to all. I have asked some of the poets that have influenced me and helped me get to this point in my career, and two of my favourite local musicians to read / perform as well so it will be a good evening.
Entry is free, but donations are being collected for the St Ann’s and Sneinton Food Store, a list of wanted foods are on the facebook event:
Where can we buy the pamphlet?
At the launch. From me at gigs. Other outlets to be confirmed.
