Arts & Culture

The Nunsthorpe Poetry Group formed following an event at the Lit.com literature festival in 2007.

There are around 10 members, all of whom meet on a regular basis to share and discuss each others work.

Phyll Smith

“We had intended to take poetry out of the library at Nunsthorpe and onto the streets of the estate, some named after great British poets such as Robert Burns, John Milton, Percy Shelley, but not perhaps teeming with poetry itself.” said Phyll Smith, group leader and librarian at Nunsthorpe Library.

“There were people that could recite whole chunks of Byron and Shelley. Then again, there were a lot of others who had never heard of them at all.

“I was quite surprised when I found a couple of people who not only had a great interest in poetry but were accomplished poets themselves. “

The group launched a series of booklets last year which showcases the work of their members Tim Neave, Rob Etty and Sam Gardiner.

Robert Etty’s ‘The Horncastle Executioner’ is an anthology of poems that reflect the life and landscape of rural Lincolnshire.

Rob Etty

Born in Grimsby, Rob has authored a number of collections including Half a Field's Distance: New and Selected Poems.

“I’m influenced by landscape and the people and the buildings in those landscapes. I’ve written quite a lot of poems about birds and animals, although I don’t consider them as my main themes.” said Rob.

“Lots of people feel the need to write but not everyone feels the wish to have it published. So it’s hugely beneficial to show what you’ve written to other people because they will make comments on things that you hadn’t spotted at all.”

Born in Northern Ireland, Sam Gardiner lives on the Nunsthorpe estate. His collection of poems titled ‘Southumbrian Tidings’ reflect his experience living in Grimsby and Cleethorpes over the last 40 years.

Sam won the National Poetry Medal in 1993 and was nominated for the Forward Prize this year. He has published a number of works including two books Protestant Windows (2000) and The Night Ships (2007).

Tim Neave

Tim Neave’s book ‘i.d.s.t.’ is based on philosophy and explores the meaning of life. Although a published poet, he considers writing poetry to be a spiritual mission rather than a hobby or occupation.

“My work is personal, intuitive but informed by philosophy and understanding life and trying to find out what things really do mean … how does it refer to the rest of our lives, how does it refer to the rest of history, how does it refer to the rest of the world.” said Tim.

“I’ve published some work in books and magazines but not a great deal.” said poet Tim Neave. “I’m not a career poet. I write poetry for personal reasons to explore myself.”

“[The group] has confirmed that I’m not the only person in the area writing poetry seriously. I was immensely impressed to find the set of [writers] that I met when I came here.” added Tim.