New Black Country poetry collection released
Our local dialect is shown off in a new collection.
A poetry collection described as a love song to the Black Country’s post-industrial landscape has been penned by a university lecturer.
In Subsidence, Rob Francis has explored how the area’s past has shaped not only what we see today but also its working class communities.
“It’s about a contemporary Black Country looking back at its industrial past and thinking about where it is now,” he said.
“One of the big themes in the collection is now that we’re not the industrial heartland we once were, where does the Black Country sit in the world? What is the Black Country now it doesn’t have the smog?”
Rob, who is a lecturer in creative and professional writing at the University of Wolverhampton began penning the poems before the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Some of his work was inspired by walks around the area which took in both the more industrial parts as well as natural sites within the The Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark, including Wren’s Nest National Nature Reserve and Saltwells Local Nature Reserve.
“I’m interested in how nature has taken back industrial places yet some relics of the past still remain.
“I make notes as I’m walking and I take a photo. I sit on them for a while and then I take them out and start writing down a few lines,” says Rob who lives in Dudley.
Many of his poems have been structured to “show off” the Black Country dialect.
“There is something about the way we speak in the Black Country, there is a rhythm to it and it naturally flows.
“Sonnets and other forms of poetry are seen these icons of great art and literature so I quite like playing with that and bringing in the voice of the everyday person and non-standard English,” explains Rob.
Writing and reading poetry brings him a lot of joy and he enjoys being inspired by the people and places in the Black Country.
“I really love the musicality of it, the way you can make music and sound from words and it comes together like a melody,” he adds.
As well as also being the author of five poetry pamphlet collections and a novel, Bella, he is currently Poet in Residence for the Black Country Geological Society.
“I’m tasked with exploring the geosites of the region, and writing a series of geopoems inspired by and set in these wonderful places,” he says.
Rob will be involved in a number of online events in the coming months, including Gloucester Poetry Festival on December 12 and Wolverhampton Literature Festival in February.
Subsidence is priced £7.99 and available from Smokestack Books at smokestack-books.co.uk.
