By Tim Nuttall
A local poet says he is “blown away” after finding out that one of his inspirations, Scottish poet Fin Hall, has recorded two of his poems for release online in the coming weeks.
Having previously cited his appreciation for Fin’s work, self- proclaimed “Bard of Withernsea” Richard Harries is delighted to have his work brought to life by a fellow poet.
Richard said: “Amazing poet, filmmaker and inspiration Fin Hall has blown me away by recording two of my poems – Humankind and Modern Slavery taken from my first book, Awakening, and its follow-up, Iconic Tattoo. Modern Slavery has also been made into a song by local artist Frank Johnson, which is very exciting.”
Sharing his appreciation of Richard’s work, Fin said: “I was immediately enamoured by not only Richard’s words, but the way he reads and his abundant enthusiasm. He writes eruditely, covering historical facts, human rights and personal experiences.”
Richard discovered a flair for poetry shortly before retirement when he was tasked with turning Wordsworth’s Daffodils into a funny doggerel – the success of which led to a further request for a bespoke poem about his boss’s engagement for an office card.
Initially focusing on poems with a humorous slant, Richard’s style soon evolved to include difficult contemporary issues as inspiration – tapping into emotions of anger, irritation and exasperation.
Internationally, Richard has been privileged to headline a number of online events launched in France, Italy, the USA and Canada. His work is also popular in India, from where he has received a number of awards for “literary excellence” and “literary appreciation”, and his poems have appeared in three anthologies on the topic of world peace.
In recent weeks, Richard’s international success has continued with a virtual headline appearance for Spoken World Online where he read a number of his poems during a livestream event. Meanwhile, Columbian-born Maria del Castillo Sucerquia, a literary agent and bilingual poet, has also approached him with a view of translating his works into Spanish.
Richard said: “I was delighted to headline another international spoken word event with huge success last week. I even had requests for encores, which is unheard of at such events. The video is available to watch online for anyone who is interested.”
Richard’s performance can be watched by visiting youtu.be/ndJmIR1gRMA.
