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Poetry in motion for 40 years
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| Pauline Kirk |
It's a haunting tale of sacrifice and heroism which jumps out from the pages of a book about poets in a way which is almost shocking.
You don't expect to stumble across a story from the Holocaust in a celebration of poets from Northern England - but Heinrich Schorr became connected with the literary group, the Pennine Poets, decades after escaping from the Nazis.
Heinrich, who was Jewish, was sent to an extermination camp along with his brother and parents after Hitler over-ran Austria. His parents were sent to the gas chambers but the two boys managed to stay together.
What happened next is described in the book, Spirit and Emotion, Forty Years of Pennine Poets.
"Outside the German sphere of influence many people in Europe were concerned about what was happening there but the only way to help at that time seemed to be by organising escape routes. This was dangerous work. Word reach the two brothers at last that an escape had been planned but the organisation could take only one of them. They would take the older brother.
" No!' Heinrich's brother insisted. You are the poet in our family. You must go, Heinrich.' He exercised the prerogative of the older brother and that is what happened. He went to the gas chambers while Heinrich came to England with the almost impossible task of living up to his brother's expectations."
His tale, both tragic and inspiring, is one of many told in the book which has been published to mark the 40th anniversary of the Pennine Poets.
And some of his work is published in the book along with verses by his sister who had also escaped from the Nazis.
The group, which began in Elland Library, has attracted members from across a wide area stretching from Manchester to York and taking in places such as Ilkley and Horsforth.
Some of its members have gone on to become well-known - others have died in sad circumstances - but all have enjoyed the help and encouragement they have had from working together.
Now in the book, which is written by Mabel Ferrett and edited by Pauline Kirk, looks back at the history of the group and at the people who have helped to keep it going for four decades - a timespan which is unusual if not unique for such a body.
The story began in 1966 when Halifax woman Joan Lee decided to start a poetry group. More than 30 years later her own personal story ended in sadness when her body was dragged from the Rochadale canal in Todmorden.
But the group she established is still thriving, and its members have found literary success as individuals and as part of that group. The Pennine Poets celebrated their 30th anniversary with the launch of an anthology Pennine Tracks at the Ilkley Literature festival.
And their links with the town remain strong. They perform at the Ilkley Literature Festival, and one of their members, Pauline Kirk, who edited the new book is the judge at the Wharfedale Festival.
Pauline Kirk, was a poet in a closet' when she moved to Horsforth from Reading many years ago.
She had begun writing poetry with the birth of her first child more than 30 years ago.
"Poetry came to me very much with the birth of my children," she said. "I can't understand why, but I have heard other women say the same. "I thought poetry was far too difficult. The only poem I wrote at school got a fail because it didn't scan and it didn't rhyme."
When she moved up North she submitted some work to Mabel, who had been editing the group's magazine, and was invited to attend a workshop.
Since then she has never looked back, finally taking the plunge in 1998 to give up her day job with Leeds Social Services in favour of a career as a freelance writer and editor.
Now living in York, she has had two novels published as well as seven collections of poetry.
She said the book about the history of the Pennine poets was made possible by Arts Council funding. It will be followed by a second work later this year by Dr Ken Smith, of Bradford University, examining the themes that the poets have written about.
The initial print run for Spirit and Emotion was 350, but Pauline said: "They are rapidly going so I suspect we will have to have another."
She said the current membership of the group stands at around 15 who attend meetings, and another 15 or so who keep in regular contact.
Many members are also talented in other areas, such as art and music.
Pauline said it was fairly usual to get smaller more area based groups, and she added: "I don't know of another one that covers such a wide area. It is certainly very odd in lasting 40 years - most groups tend to last about five or ten years. That is why it is so exceptional and it is a reason why we got the Arts Council funding."
She added: "It has tended to be a breeding ground for writers, novelists, and poets and has provided a stimulus for us all. The workshops are always very helpful and of a very high standard."
She said members gave each other help and advice, and the group attended high profile events such as the Ilkley Festival.
She believes the book will attract a wider audience than that afforded to an average poetry anthology - from writers groups, to people who are interested in literature, to people who are interested in Yorkshire.
Certainly many of the individuals are fascinating in themselves, and as a group the Pennine Poets has achieved many things.
By 1975 its magazine, Pennine Platform, had grown in circulation from 60 to nearly 400, with copies being sold in America, Canada, New Zealand, Africa, Greece and Iceland.
And just ten years after the group was set up the quality of its work prompted the Yorkshire Arts Association Magazine to proclaimed: "What emerges from the small environment of Heckmondwike is as remarkable as that which broke forth from the unliberated 19th century Haworth."
Examples of that work can be seen throughout the book, with a wide range of subjects reflecting a changing society. From the peculiarities of Yorkshire dialect to the horrors of war, from love to loss, there is a wide breadth in the topics which are aired in the poems featured in the book.
After 40 years the Pennine Poets are still going strong and are confidently expecting to go forward to their 50th anniversary.
In the book the present editor of the Pennine Platform, Nicholas Bielby, says: "Poets need other poets - that's my experience. They need them for various reasons - to imitate and learn from, to admire and do differently from, to hear how their own poems sound in front of an informal audience, to get comments, criticisms and suggestions from them.
"I think that's about it - but it's enough. Enough to suggest that, if something like Pennine Poets does not survive, then it will be necessary to invent it again."
Spirit and Emotion is published by Fighting Cock Press and sells for £12.50
9:25am Thursday 14th September 2006
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