Bermudian Poet Featured On BBC Radio Scotland

June 11, 2012

[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.

Read More About

Category: All, Entertainment, News

Comments (5)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. J Starling says:

    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.

  2. Paul Maddern says:

    Thank you, Sharla, for a lovely reading. It’s very much appreciated.

    And thank you, J.

  3. Paul Maddern says:

    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.

    • J Starling says:

      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…