So I got to meet and then see and hear Cycle Poet Caroline Burrows on Thursday evening. I hadn’t heard about her or her work until an ol’ school pal of mine got in touch. Said pal Jill runs The Cycle Hub on Newcastle’s Quayside and wanted me to help promote Caroline’s gig which was part of Caroline’s Turning Pedals in Poems Tour. This one woman tour started in Bristol and has been making its way to Berwick on Tweed via the Pennines.
I shared gig details on social media and blogged about the gig but felt a bit useless. It’s hard to persuade folk out to a spoken word gig if they’ve never seen or heard the writer.
My writing pal Sandy joined me for the Cycle Hub gig. It’s a great venue for spoken word, with friendly staff selling drinks and snacks.
Caroline performed with her bike parked in front of her. She had her felt-tipped script but performed most of her poems from memory. I found myself scribbling compliments in my notebook. Her first poem, A Bike Bard on Tour set the scene for the journey she took us on and it included Wilfred Owen, Bristol, the Romantic Poets, nature, the sonnet form, astronomy, matters of the heart and keeping body and mind together with the power of two wheels.
I wrote “great stories, charming, engaging and thought provoking” in my notebook. I loved her poem If My Heart was my Bicycle and hope to see her work in book form soon.
Caroline’s future gigs include a free teaching session then an evening gig (you need to buy a ticket) at Bamburgh Pavilion on Wednesday 21st September. Click here for more info. There are also September gigs in Berwick, Kielder Observatory and then a November one in Hereford. Visit Caroline on Facebook for more info or follow her on Twitter and Instagram
Good luck on the rest of your tour, Caroline. We look forward to seeing you perform in the North East next year!
