THESE ARE THE HANDS: POEMS FROM THE HEAR

Michael Rosen was born in 1946 in North London. One of the best-known figures in the children's book world, he is renowned for his work as a poet, performer, broadcaster and scriptwriter. As an author and by selecting other writers' works for anthologies he has been involved with over 140 books. He lectures and teaches in universities on children's literature, reading and writing. Michael is a familiar voice to BBC listeners and is currently presenting Word of Mouth, the magazine programme that looks at the English language and the way we use it. He visits schools with his one-man show to enthuse children with his passion for books and poetry. He was one of the first poets to make visits to schools throughout the UK and has also visited schools throughout the world. Michael Rosen started writing poetry when he was twelve years old, creating satirical poems about people he knew. His parents, who were both teachers and distinguished educators, were from the Jewish East End tradition, their parents and/or grandparents coming form Poland/ Russia/Romania. He went to various state schools in Pinner, Harrow and Watford and by the time he was sixteen he was an avid poetry reader, especially enjoying DH Lawrence's poems and James Joyce's 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.' He started to write 'deadly serious' poems about things he had done when he was much younger, about girls and about 'nature.' In the sixth form he was introduced to the work of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Although he tried to write in a similar style, the results, he says, 'were incomprehensible and very boring.' Michael attended Middlesex Hospital Medical School for a year

Deborah Alma is a UK poet who teaches Creative Writing at Keele University where she is an Honorary Research Fellow. She has worked using poetry with people with dementia, in hospice care, with vulnerable women's groups and with children in schools. She is also Emergency Poet prescribing poetry from her vintage ambulance. She is editor of Emergency Poet- An Anti-Stress Poetry Anthology; The Everyday Poet- Poems to Live By; #Me Too - Rallying Against Sexual Harassment- A Women's Poetry Anthology and Ten Poems of Happiness. Her first, full collection, Dirty Laundry is published by Nine Arches Press. She co-founded the world's first walk-in Poetry Pharmacy in Shropshire with her partner the poet James Sheard featured on the BBC and Sky TV.

Dr Katie Amiel is a GP working in Hackney, London. She is a member of the Royal College of General Practioners' (RCGP) Wellbeing Committee, is a trained teacher of MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy) and has run many workshops, courses and training events on health professional mental health, wellbeing and compassion including work for the Practitioner Health Programme. She founded The Bigger Picture, a collaborative project with the RCGP. This aims to improve health professional wellbeing and patient care by offering a wider perspective including the arts and humanities and give opportunities for healthcare staff to develop, showcase and celebrate their creative talents. Its key themes of connection, compassion, creativity, curiosity and contemplation are being explored through inspiring talks, events, workshops, exhibitions, a literary festival and this anthology.