Peter Foster tells of his experience of being an LAA competiton winner

 

Yes, I’ve enjoyed some success with Lancashire Authors this year. First my villanelle, Lancashire Cheese, was awarded the Pomfret Trophy. I’d entered two poems in this category and one in free verse for the Batty Trophy.

Lancashire Cheese came about through a fellow LAA member setting a challenge to write a villanelle with a happier subject than is usually the case. I find the villanelle a pleasant form to write in, with there being only two rhyming sounds to worry about. The tricky part is to then have it make grammatical sense.

I tend not to be an avid participant of writing competitions as I’m not really all that prolific but I enjoy supporting LAA, especially since the re-introduction of a dialect category, which can be both fun and challenging to write. When I find that I have a poem or some prose that I consider good enough to enter I tend to try to forget about it for a few weeks and then re-read and, if I still like it, edit it a little until it’s good to go.

Later in the year I was thrilled to have my photograph of the Singing Ringing Tree chosen for the cover of this year’s LAA anthology. The suggestion for the subject came from my son in law. My first visit to the site didn’t result in photos that I was happy with so I returned after two days when the sun was in more favourable position. Ideally I would have preferred to have included Pendle Hill in the frame but the day was too hazy. The winning shot was one of 34.

I also had the privilege to take part in one of the Telling Tales events that had been held at Chorley Theatre through the year, I’d heard about the events via LAA; it was the Halloween event and I read ‘A Boggart in Blackpool’, a dialect poem from my collection, The Dream and the Flowers.

I’m currently putting together a collection of poems with the intention of publication, and I will certainly be entering LAA competitions in 2025.

Find your copy of the collection here 

 

 

Peter Foster

 Today I welcome on to my blog Lancashire Authors' Association member Peter Foster: 

 

               

What do you write?

I write mainly poetry, although I have written a few short stories, none of which have been submitted for publication. I’m not entirely sure as to why I prefer to write poetry. I suppose it stems from a love of folk music and story songs in general and the way that a song or a poem can put across a message in a concise and often memorable manner.

 

What got you writing in the first place?

I’ve always enjoyed poetry and verse and wrote a little but didn’t consider writing seriously until the early nineties when I enrolled on a creative writing course at Runshaw College. I then dabbled a little for my own interest but nothing serious, then shortly after retirement, I joined Sid Calderbank’s Monday dialect group which reignited my interest in writing.

 

Do you have a particular routine?

I don’t have a routine. Initially it was just ideas that came to me through daily life. Then as I progressed if I saw a suggested topic that appealed I would have a try at it. Now it’s a mixture of both.

 

Do you have a dedicated working space?

 I don’t have a particular work space.

 

When did you decide you could call yourself a writer? Do you do that in fact?

I had never considered calling myself a ‘writer’ until I began reciting some of my work at ‘Acoustic Cabaret’ events hosted by Phil and Sorrel Harty of Music for All, where I began to be asked if my poems were published. Encouraged by the response from my recitals I began try to find a publisher and discovered Leslie Atherton who was then presenting an internet radio show featuring poetry and verse and it was Leslie who persuaded me to compile a collection for publication. The result was The Dream and the Flowers, which became available on Amazon in March 2021. Now I compare my writing to gardening, which I enjoy although I don’t derive any income from it but I consider myself a gardener. The same applies to my writings: despite earning little or no income from it; I write, therefore I think I can call myself a writer.

You can find my book The Dream and The Flowers: A Collection of Traditional Style Verse in Standard English and Dialect here.

 

How supportive are your friends and family? Do they understand what you're doing?

I receive very good support from friends and family.

               

What are you most proud of in your writing?

Until recently the publication of my collection would have been my proudest moment but that has now been trumped by winning the Lancashire Authors Batty Cup.

 

How do you get on with editing and research?

Fine, I try to make sure that any points I make in my writing are accurate.

 

Do you have any goals for the future?

As for future goals it would be good to put another collection out sometime.

 

Which writers have inspired you?

I’ve read many of the canonical poets but think as far as drawing inspiration my choice would have to be Seamus Heaney for the way in which he takes everyday activities and objects, many from his farming background, and gives them weight and meaning relating to the wider world.

Along with the classic Dickens and Bronte novels I also admire the eighteenth century satirists such as Swift and Smollett and feel that the late Terry Pratchett would compare favourably with them. The modern novelists that I enjoy include Michael Connolly, James Lee Burke and C J Box.