by Sam Hawcroft
Withernsea poet Dean Wilson is to launch his latest book this week.
Ask: Another Uncharacteristically Lengthy Poem by Dean Wilson is out today, Thursday, June 4, with a launch event at the New Clarence in Hull from 7pm.
The book, published by DeanWorld, continues Dean’s recent move into longer-form poetry, despite the title suggesting such works remain unusual for him.
Dean said the poem began taking shape in August last year after he woke up with a few lines in his head. A walk along the promenade followed and, by the time he returned, more ideas had come.
Within a few weeks, the piece had grown into what would become Ask, a poem built around a repeated invitation to “ask me” about life, people, memories, pop culture and the small details that often spark Dean’s distinctive humour.
Dean said the book drew, as much of his work does, from life, but also included references to famous figures and places, and the shared memories of people of a certain age.
He said: “There’s a lot of celebrities and stuff. It’s just fun, really.”
The book has been shaped with the help of Dave Lee, who leads DeanWorld and also worked with Dean on the format.
Dean said Dave had suggested splitting the poem into sections and adding what he called a “turnaround verse” at the end of each one.
He said: “All the verses are ‘ask me this, ask me that’, but the last verse of each section is ‘but please don’t ask me about…’
“I think this works really well.”
Dave said: “It’s odd that Dean has turned to long-form poems later in life. You’d think he’d want to keep things brief so he can maintain concentration as decrepitude takes hold.
“But he keeps turning out these epic chains of verse. I helped him find a format for this book, which I think improves things for the reader. Fingers crossed he’s got epicness out of his system now and he can return to mini-dramas.”
The launch night will be compered by Dave Windass and will include a pub quiz and free buffet.
Dean said the evening was likely to be “a bit chaotic” – something he felt would suit the occasion.
He is already working on further material and said his next book was likely to be a more traditional collection made up of “lots of different poems”.
Ask: Another Uncharacteristically Lengthy Poem by Dean Wilson is available to purchase from the Gazette office in 170 Queen Street, Withernsea, or you can visit deanworld.org to find out more about Dean and his other works.