Collection: Gareth Calway

Gareth Calway was born in Brynbuga (Usk) in 1956. He grew up in Bristol and Somerset before moving to the South Wales coalfield at the age of twelve. He attended Abersychan Grammar-Technical School where his form mistress and history teacher was Glenys Kinnock and where the British Lion Terry Cobner tried to knock some Rugby into him. He learned more committed history in one week – every week - with Huw Lewis, his ‘A’ level history teacher, than he did in three years at University later. The school also gave him a lifelong love of English, Geography, Scripture Knowledge and the rudiments of woodwork and metalwork. He took a BA Hons in English and American Studies at UEA, spending almost the entire time on Seventeenth Century Language, Literature and Thought but also packing in eighteen inches of Dickens along with Linguistics, Shakespeare, Tristram Shandy and some three and a half furlongs of mediaeval poetry. He taught briefly at his old school in its last term before comprehensive reorganisation. He trained at University College Cardiff and has since taught English – among other things - in comprehensive schools in Gloucester, King’s Lynn and Hunstanton. For twenty six years. He has been a Head of Creative Arts, Drama and – since 2000 – of English and Media Studies. He has taught the experience of labour to Year Nine girls. He has been the poet in residence at Bristol City FC since 2003, contributing regular poems and articles to the Bristol press and radio and even going on the telly. Bluechrome published his seventh book of poetry, Exile In His Own Country, in 2006 and an eighth, King Arthur and the Myth of Celtic Manhood, is due in 2008. He retired from running a large English and Media Studies department in August 2007 to write and perform full time - and to teach Creative Writing. He takes workshops into schools and other venues from his base in Norfolk. He still writes brainy educational resources for various publishers, writes widely for educational journals and is an Examiner in the modern novel. He’s all right though. Poetry Exile In His Own Country: fifty years Sheer Paltry: football poems and stories The House on the River: a history of Norwich through one building The Merchant of Bristol: a Tudor mayor's tale in period sonnets Britain's Dreaming: Boudicca's revolt against Rome in the rhythms of punk rock: the finest hour of the Norfolk girl Coming Home: a route map inspired by Meher Baba Fiction River Deep; Mountain High: a comedy romance set in a Welsh school Audio CDs Bristol City Ruined My Life But Made My Day: (forty years of following City in football poems, stories, original songs, guitar and male voice crowd) Marked For Life: (the schooldays show: poems, dramas, documentary sound, electric guitar and vocals) Boudicca: the Anarchy Tour (three live versions of the 1998-1999 tour spliced with the 1997 studio version) Source: [url=http://www.garethcalway.co.uk/]Gareth Calway’s Website[/url]