Focus: Anna Woodford

Who are you and where are you from?
I’m Anna Woodford and I’m a poet from Newcastle.

What is it you do?
I write poetry and have just had my third book published.

How long have you been doing it?
I got my first poem published when I was 16 in Iron magazine, based in Cullercoats. I stopped writing for a while at uni, then took it up again in my twenties when I was working in PR. For a while, I wrote press releases by day and poetry by night. Then I went away for a month’s retreat to Ireland to see if I could handle writing poetry all the time. I handed in my notice on my first day back in the office. 

What inspires you?
I write a lot about family – lately, poems about my Mum, who died in a locked-down ward during the pandemic. As she was so joyous and upbeat, I’ve tried to make them celebratory poems rather than depressing. I also write about my grandfather, who escaped from Nazi-occupied L’viv (then in Poland, now in the Ukraine). Sex is a big subject as well as all the usual things poets are obsessed with – love, death, age and time. I’m also inspired by being given a theme – I’ve been poet in residence in Alnwick Garden, Tyne & Wear Fire Service and Durham University’s Law School. It’s a relief sometimes to be told what to write about (and reminds me of my PR days).    

Tell us about your work.
My latest book Everything is Present is a back-to-front mid-life coming-of-age tale, divided into three sections – End/Middle/Beginning, but beginning at the End. The title comes from a Buddhist meditation. Poems in the book have won the international Ledbury and Wigtown prizes and been included in the prestigious Forward Anthology of the Year. It looks at a life from the perspective of middle age – there’s poems about growing up, running away from school, house shares, sex in adolescence, children growing up, sex in midlife and parents getting ill and dying. 

What have you got coming up in the future?
I’m working on a project with another poet, Tara Bergin, writing poems in response to the Bronte archive in Haworth. I’ve also got some poetry due to be exhibited at Longbenton Metro as part of a project I run in collaboration with Nexus and the Royal Literary Fund.

*Where can people find out more about you?
From my website annawoodford.co.uk  

They can also pick up a copy of my book Everything is Present from Amazon, Waterstones.com or saltpublishing.com