A year ago today the found text poetry pamphlet found ~ flow ~ flux was launched at a celebratory event at the ROSE Community Clubroom in Nine Elms. It was the culmination of my commission from Wandsworth Council to create new art in Nine Elms.

I loved the whole process. The first part of the project was leading three free walks for local people around the area, each followed by a workshop in which participants used words and phrases found on the walk to create a poem responding to what they had seen and how they felt about the changes taking place. I also took all the texts they had gathered and created three new poems, one for each walk route. The next stage was editing and collating all the poems into a sequence that flowed and had a balance to it. I was delighted with the poems I received, all varied and true to the participant’s experience, and reflecting the variety of language used on the area’s hoardings, signage and so on. I wrote an introduction, chose a photo for the cover and then liaised with PowerPrint, a local print company, on the layout and overall design of the pamphlet.

The launch, on a warm Thursday evening, more than lived up to my hopes. All bar one of the contributors attended and most read their contribution. The thrill of seeing something you’ve written printed on the page, in a physical pamphlet or book, is hard to beat. For many of the contributors it was the first time seeing themselves in print, and for some it was the first poem they’d ever written. For me, there was the immense satisfaction of seeing my initial idea realised almost exactly as I’d imagined; and in a way that involved and hopefully inspired the locals who took part.

A year on, almost all the copies of found ~ flow ~ flux have been distributed for free to contributors, local people and Battersea’s libraries. There are also copies lodged with the Wandsworth Heritage Service, the British Library and the other five legal deposit libraries. And already some of the signage has changed. A few days ago I noticed that the charmingly named barber’s shop on Lockington Road, Keep it HANDSOME, which made its way into one of my poems, has closed and the small space is now a yoga studio.

Overall, found ~ flow ~ flux is one of the achievements I’m most proud of, alongside London Undercurrents, co-authored with Joolz Sparkes, a project which took years to come to fruition, and my story The Red Suitcase, which finally found its way into print with Nightjar Press after thirteen rejections, and was subsequently included in Best British Short Stories 2021.

Lastly, a quick reminder that I’m leading another Open Spaces in Nine Elms walk on Sunday 3rd September, starting at 2pm, should you be interested in exploring the area with me. I can’t guarantee poetic inspiration, but there’ll be plenty of heritage information about the area and background on the redevelopment of Nine Elms. And quite a few trees.