Writers

About the writer

I was born in Hull - down Somerset Street in fact! But I now live in Scarborough which I love. The scenery is beautiful and that inspires me to write a lot of poetry about nature.

I started writing at quite a young age, I remember at school I was very popular at Valentine's Day as the other girls used to get me to write romantic verse in their cards to their boyfriends!

I have also written a lot of comic verse as I find lots of things in life amusing or just downright ridiculous at times.

My first published poem was published at the age of 22, entitled 'The War Memorial' in the Beverley Advertiser and I also had it published in the British Legion handbook. Since then I have had various poems published in different volumes as well as an anthology of poems in Spotlight Poets.

Oh and I won an award from the International Society of Poets in 2002 for a Poet of Merit.

More recently I won three award from Groningen University in the Netherlands for my poem 'The Soldiers Farewell'. The prizes were the Prix de Bronze-Juillet 2007 Du Poeme Dramatique, the Prix de Bronze-Juillet 2007 Du Poeme Epique ou Politique and the Prix Special-Juillet 2007 Du President Du Jury.

The creative process

As for inspiration - I just love to write! I love other poetry as well, particularly William Wordsworth (he writes about nature in a way I can identify with), Robert Burns (wonderfully witty poems and someone I would have loved to have met) and Ted Hughes (his poems grab you in the gut with their forceful imagery and he was a Yorkshireman)

I think writing poetry is something that's in you. If you want to express yourself this way -go for it! Poetry is in everything, be it a jingle for an ad, a ditty, a limerick or the more serious sonnet or prose.

To finish here's a quick poem: It's a comic verse written for men everywhere who have ever been dragged around the shops by their partners and asked that eternal question - "Does my bum look big in this?"

I loved you truly,
The only lie,
To ever pass my lips.
Was when you turned to me,
And asked,
"Does my bum look big in this?"
"No my dear," I replied,
The only time,
I've ever lied.

Doreen Morfitt (a.k.a. penniless_poet)