Julie Boden – Revealing Poetry

On April 5th 2011, poet Julie Boden gave a fascinating and revealing insight into what it means to write and perform poetry full-time, to students on the module EN431 - Approaches to Poetry. Julie is a former Birmingham Poet Laureate, and is currently Poet in Residence at Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

As well as reading a number of her poems, Julie discussed the inspiration and context for each poem, talked about her role at Symphony Hall and as a Birmingham Laureate, and answered questions from the students about her work and her life as a full-time poet. This often involved revealing stories about friends and family and personal experiences, causing Julie to question where the boundaries should lie between the personal and the public when reading her poetry to an audience, poetry which is often written in response to emotional experiences and challenging times. It was fascinating to hear about some of the day-to-day tasks Julie undertakes in her role, and about specific projects, including the sometimes arduous process of writing poetry on commission and finding inspiration in the most unlikely of places. Students made the most of this opportunity, engaging in a warm and lively discussion with Julie about her work, her route into writing, and her inspirations. We hope that Julie will continue to work with us on future projects.

You can read more about Julie, and read some of her poetry, selected from her published collections, on her website:
http://www.julieboden.co.uk