John Botterill

Since I retired as an English teacher, five years ago, I have been writing poetry to explore my past, my language, relationships, how I felt about current affairs. Indeed, everything! Often poems just present themselves to me. All I have to do, it seems, is write them down! At other times, more careful revision and rewriting is required.

So far two collections have reached KPD: 'Released on Licence (Poetic Licence)' published under the pseudonym, J.G.Barwell, in October, 2022 and my latest book, 'All Roads Lead to Malton,' in February, 2023.

I have a pension and though it may sound corny, I write for the love of it. I have decided to donate any of the (meagre) proceeds I make to the Teenage Cancer Trust, who helped my daughter, Laura, survive cancer ten years ago. if you don't want to buy my poetry, miss out the middle man and donate to the T.C.T! As it says in 'Poetic Licence',poetry is not greatly remunerated, so it's not a licence to print money! It is a whole lot of fun, though, and it beats the hell out of doing crosswords!

Give 'All Roads Lead to Malton' a try. It's a masterpiece. You will not regret it. I think it's even better than 'Released on Licence!' And that is stunning...