Christian Ward's poetry has appeared in Iota, Other Poetry, The Warwick Review, Poetry Wales and The Kenyon Review. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2007 and was shortlisted for the 2007 Plough Prize. He was shortlisted for an Eric Gregory award this year. He has had several pamphlets published; most recently, Bone Transmissions, from US-based Maverick Duck Press (March 2009). He hopes to eventually have a full length collection of poetry published. You can visit Christian's deviantART page to see more of his work.
"Why I write poetry."
I write poetry for several reasons.
Firstly, I enjoy writing it. I find shaping an idea or image into a piece an exciting process and one that I relish every day.
Secondly, it is like caffeine to me. I feel compelled to write poetry every day. If I don’t, I go mad.
Thirdly, poetry is my way of leaving my mark on the world. I think it’s incredibly satisfying (and humbling) knowing I can write something that might have an effect on someone or on a group of people.
St Helier Estate
St Helier, London
People here have faces
like dimmer switches:
brightening when they
see the postman bringing
wage slips, benefit letters.
Darkening when they catch
a glimpse of the loan shark
barking outside the front door.
I pass a group of boys playing
football in the street. They stare
at me the way lions do in zoos:
faces hidden in dark, waiting
for a slip-up, the first opportunity
to ease a paw round the cold metal
bars that separates them from us
and taste what has been missing
from their lives since being imprisoned.
You can see more of Christian's poetry here. He will be reading at all four nights of the London Poetry Festival from 7th - 10th August 2009. Want to come along? If so, check this out!
