A Woeful Tale

Derrick Cranpole discovered poetry during his time at sea, which took him from the Arctic to the Southern Ocean and from the Americas to the Red Sea. Remembering bits of verse helped pass the long watches of the night.

Back in the early sixties, Cranpole found himself on the deck of a lobster boat. Despite many ups and downs, he stayed at the fishing and he loved every day of it.

Now, he brings together a collection of his own poems, recording his observations of life in a fishing community on the south coast of Ireland.

Cranpole's poetry has been described as "ironic, sometimes blunt", particularly when shining the light on officialdom and the infuriating bureaucracy that often seems to presides over the EU's Common Fisheries Policy. He dwells upon the everyday problems, at sea and on land, facing seafarers, fishermen, residents of coastal communities. His manner is forthright but mostly in a humorous vein. He never flinches from championing the cause of the underdog. Some have even detected "a touch of the Kiplings" in his light-hearted poems and sketches.

Many of his poems have appeared in The Marine Times, Fishing News, Irish Skipper, Inshore Ireland. Some have even been aired on radio.