Boys Into Books, Craig Bradley and a BIG BAG of Leeks

I had some money left in the pot from the Boys Into Books project and was able to book Craig Bradley, performance poet, for two days. To call Craig a performance poet is like calling a diamond a piece of coal. You really do need to see him in performance to catch what it’s all about; he’s a PERFORMANCE poet.

I booked him for Alkrington and Heywood libraries for Monday 11th May and The Wheatsheaf Library for Wednesday 13th May before I realised that was SATS week! Anyway, we had St. Thomas More, St. Michael’s, Deeplish, Greenbank and Heybrook schools coming along and they all had a great time:

“POETRY IS NOT PANTS!”

Try this tongue twister:

“One smart fellow, he felt smart;
Two smart fellows, they felt smart;
Three smart fellows, they felt smart;
They all felt smart together!”

As for the big bag of leeks... One of Craig’s poems is called “56 ways of looking at a leek.” In rhyming couplets and with a couple of helpers wielding leeks to join in with the actions, Craig shows us how to look at everyday objects with a poet’s eye.

I was left with a big bag of slightly dog-eared leeks. Or, with my poet’s eye, I had a pile of poet-tenderised fresh vegetables for a gourmet delight. I made a huge pan of leek and potato soup and there were still enough leeks for a cheese and leek loaf to accompany it. The verdict? Delicious!

I love poetry – especially poetry you can eat!

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