Bermudian Poet Featured On BBC Radio Scotland
[Updated] A poem written by Bermudian Paul Maddern, and read by fellow Bermudian Sharla Cavonne is presently featured on BBC Radio Scotland’s website.
The BBC said, “Bodysurf by Paul Maddern captures the Bermudian understanding of the waves which relentlessly roll towards their island. The poem is read by Sharla Cavonne.” Listen to the reading here.
Also within the short segment, Ms. Cavonne tells the BBC a little bit about Bermuda and what makes it so unique. Ms. Cavonne, a student in London expressed a passion for creative writing and poetry while attending the Government of Bermuda London Office student reception in November 2011. When BBC Scotland approached the London Office, Ms. Cavonne was awarded the opportunity to represent Bermuda.
Now a Teaching Fellow in Creative Writing at the UK’s University of Leeds, Mr. Maddern recently completed a PhD at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, Queen’s University Belfast.
The former Saltus Grammar School student’s work has appeared in publications including, “The Caribbean Writer”, “Poetry Ireland Review”, “The Shop”, “The Yellow Nib”, “Incertus” (Netherlea Press, 2008) an anthology of emerging poets writing in the north of Ireland, and ”From a Small Back Room” (Netherlea Press, 2009) a festschrift for Ciaran Carson.
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Congrats to Mr. Maddern! Well done!
I believe the transcript goes:
Paul Maddern
Bodysurf
To understand everything about the swell—
how on a given day the seventh in the cycle
provides the greatest chance to ride to shore
if caught where the rip collides with the surge,
where the wave pries a mouth wide
and prepares to heave its travelled miles—
to understand the moment of submission,
when to dive in and up the crest
in order to avoid a rabid tumble,
flung skyward out the other side
falling yards into the trough and humbled—
to understand that we’re aligned
to leave behind horizons to the climbing wall,
hunched and turned three quarters,
believing that the travelling momentum
is such we’ll be absorbed and pulled along—
so someone watching oceans from a towel
might raise herself a little on one elbow
and to her partner whisper, Dolphins.
Thank you, Sharla, for a lovely reading. It’s very much appreciated.
And thank you, J.
It was my pleasure, I am glad that you’re pleased with my reading!
I should add, the poem’s from a collection called “The Beachcomber’s Report” (Templar Poetry, 2010), and many of the poems are inspired by Bermuda.
Where would one find your works? Are they available in the bookstores in Bermuda or the UK? Don’t know if you’ll see this though…