Poetry

Poetic verse
Charlotte Harding gets inside the brain of an Eastbourne poet

B

efore being a poet Laurie
Wilkinson’s previous career
saw him work for 30 years
in psychiatry, and has
earned him the nickname
The Psychy Poet.
Laurie grew up in Walthamstow, East
London leaving school at 15 with no
qualifications.
“I had wonderful parents but we were
very poor,” he explains.
“We were always
laughing, joking, singing
and quoting bits of verse
and sayings.
“I have always loved
the written word and
literature.
“In my teens in the 1960s
I sang with groups for whom
I wrote songs/lyrics and it
carried on from there
really.”
Adding that
he used to write
work colleagues ditties
he wrote his
first formal
poem in
1999.
It tailed
off until
2012
when he says
he started to
write prolifically.
Seven books
and about 500 poems
later Laurie focuses on
four themes – romance,
humour, reflection and
tragedy.
Up to 40 per cent from
each sale of his books
goes to charity Help for
Heroes, which works to
provide better facilities
for British servicemen
and women who have
been wounded or injured
in the line of duty.
“When my first book
was published in 2014
my son was in the Army,
deployed in Afghanistan,

106

April 2020

(he is out and all fine now),” Laurie
explains.
“So I thought if I could sell a few
books I could donate to Help for Heroes,
who are wonderfully appreciative and
energetic with their care.
“I raise money now for the charity
from personal poems commissions for
people, stalls, reading gigs, after meal/
groups talks.
“I get an amazing response from
people who say they didn’t like poetry
before but resonate, cry, laugh etc at my
work and say it touched on hidden
feelings and their everyday lives.
“Also I find it is therapeutic for me
as if something annoys or makes me
laugh etc it gets a poem.
“I find much of my inspiration
from life and people
in it, observations I
have made, things
that make us cuss,
laugh, cry, love
and live.”
With
so many
published
poems
it does
beg the
question
if anything
hasn’t been
used.
“No I don’t
think I have ever
written something
recently I not
used,” he
smiles.
“It is annoying
to me I used
to make up
bedtime stories
for my son
(now 38) I
never kept.”
Laurie adds
that book
eight is half
done, and
with titles
of previous
books
include

Life Scene in Verse, Poet Reveals All
and Poet Reflects Your World so it will
be interesting to see what the next
instalment brings to the table.
To view Laurie’s work, visit
www.psychypoet.com