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 Caviar lumpy fish paste or 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! It’s an interesting insight into stress, overworked staff and how people cope with added pressure (no, not me this time, the teachers) that the reaction at some schools was “NO it’s SATs, we can’t possibly come” or “It’s SATs, the children will need a break, we are definitely coming.” I can understand both those views.

We had St. Thomas More, St. Michael’s, Deeplish, Greenbank and Heybrook schools participating and without exception they all had a great time – staff and pupils. All went back to school with a new mantra

“POETRY IS NOT PANTS!”

To give you a little insight to the fun and frolics of the day, 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.

As a by-product of the poetry gig, I was left with a big bag of slightly dog-eared leeks. Or, with my poet’s eye, I had a consignment 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 Parmesan cheese and leek loaf to accompany it. I would highly recommend Craig, so much soup comes from a Craig Bradley gig you can feed yourself for a weekend and still have enough left to satisfy five members of staff on a late night Monday.

The verdict? Delicious!

I love poetry – especially poetry you can eat!