Football Poets

‘Remember The 96’ Poems+Football Poetry Workshops

1 FOOTBALL POETS ON MYSPACE visit the site
Football Poets on MySpace

2 REMEMBER THE 96 Poems from 2000-2009

3 FOOTBALL POETRY WORKSHOPS (See dates and news below)
Aailability from May onwards through 2009 all over the UK. contact Crispin Thomas: ctm@crispinthomas.orangehome.co.uk or phone 01453 757376 & 07837 798463
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2 REMEMBER THE 96 Selection Of Your Poems

20th Anniversary of Hillsborough – Wednesday April 15th 3.06pm .
A city came to a standstill to mark the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster. The bells of Liverpool’s two cathedrals and its civic buildings rang out out in memory of the 96 football fans who died at Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium on April 15 1989. The city’s public transport also came to a stop for two minutes at 3.06pm on Wednesday, exactly 20 years since the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest was abandoned.
Thousands also respected the moment in Sheffield and Nottingham, (Liverpool had been playing Nottingham Forest in 89 in the FA Cup Semi Final that day.).

An esitmated forty thousand attended a memorial service on the Kop at Anfield during which 96 candles were lit and a representative of each family was awarded the Freedom of Liverpool. It goes without saying that ‘Justice For the 96’ was also chanted . A selection of your poems from the last 9 years follow in memory of the lives of those 96 souls we lost. New poems are also featured and welcome

REMEMBER THE 96 Poems 2009
17 Apr Hysteric call Darren o’Keeffe
17 Apr The 96 Stephen Snape
17 Apr Hillsborough-20 Years On Mark Thomas
15 Apr Banner On The Night Crispin Thomas
15 Apr Please Stop Alexander Daye
15 Apr Heroes mark merriman
15 Apr Good Kop, bad cop Clik the mouse
15 Apr Empty seats – the 96 legacy Clik the mouse
15 Apr 20 Years to YesterdayS B Ingle
15 Apr 96 Haiku Hy Koo
15 Apr 96 Lost Clik the mouse
15 Apr I am always there Jim Dolbear
15 Apr Hillsborough Redman
14 Apr Don’t Go to the Match Today Denys E W Jones
14 Apr Gone but never forgotten Emdad Rahman
11 Apr In Memory of our 96 Brothers and Sisters Red
11 Apr The Day Football DiedCrispin Thomas

2000-2008 Selection Of Your Poems-Apologies If Any Left Out

Milan – Real Madrid 19/04/89 Minuto di silenzio P Maguire
The Day Truth Died P Maguire
3.06pm P Maguire
19 Darren O’Keeffe
Hillsborough Daniel McDonagh
Hillsborough P Maguire
how do you sleep? poet1978
96 poet1978
Hillsborough Justice For The 96 SB Ingle
96 Reds We’ll Never Forget P.Maguire
Hillsborough Memorial Mark Thomas
Anyone Mark Ballard
Souls Of Our Departed Ken Bushell
Do You Remember P.Maguire
Justice Part 1 Tina Bass
April 15th Hillsborough DJ Bullen
A Terrace called Leppings Lane Emsy
Hillsborough Roses Alan McKean
Remembering Hillsborough P.Maguire
The Funny Thing About Justice Mike Nicholson
Hillsborough 15 Years On Redlady
Justice For The 96 P.Maguire
At Hillsborough Stephen A Owen
Hillsborough Robert Romans
96 tears Clik the mouse
May We Never Forget Nikki Young
For the 96 Shaun Maddy
Cry me a tear mottman
96 Reasons Mark Ballard
Are You Sorry? P Maguire
96 Angels P Maguire
Justice P Maguire
Sorry Mike Nicholson
His darkest disgrace Mike Nicholson
Why did you do it? Mike Nicholson
Wishing for their old Mum Mike Nicholson
What colour justice? Mike Nicholson
Liverpool Justice Louise Ann Lacey
Why Do I Care? Tom England
Justice for what? Chris Murphy

3.FOOTBALL POETRY WORKSHOPS 2009

SPRING 2009 WORKSHOP BLOG
Hi again – Book Week and March kicked off with a return visit to Forest Green Rovers PFS Centre to work on converting the students poems into a ‘wow-factor’ display montage. That night I also drove in torrential rain , to compere and perform at a charity words fund-raiser gig in Bath in the Cavern-like ‘Porter’ venue.

The next day it was a 4.30am rise for a high energy and fun World Book Day in Stockport. (Hello Years 4, 5 & 6 Cale Green Primary!) Another hectic month took me on early train jounneys
to Wales again as part of ‘Read A Million Words’ in Chepstow ,Caldicott and Abergavenny and a few days later it was off to a great school in Bridgwater .Some great lively sessions followed at Reading FC where Study Centre leader Jenny has lined up 150 kids thoughout the day and evening!
Team captain James Harper dropped by to listen and comment on the students poems and took on a hilarious Q & A .
Two days later at Lincoln City FC we were joined by ITV Yorkshire and some really inspiring Yr 5 & 6 kids.We sat in the stands chanting and the kids produced some great work. West Bromwich Libraries (Hamstead Tipton & Central ) coming up,
See you somewhere soon .Keep on writing. Crispin

2009 FOOTBALL POETRY WORKSHOPS NEWS
We still have availability from May onwards and on through 2009. We run and book Football Poetry Workshops all year round all over the UK. .For info contact Crispin Thomas: ctm@crispinthomas.orangehome.co.uk or phone 01453 757376 & 07837 798463

W= Workshop G=Gig/Performance PFS=Playing For Success

April 09
14 STROUD Sub Rooms ‘Another Way Home Book Launch’7.30(G)
28 HAMSTEAD & Central Library 10am -3pm (W)
30 TIPTON & Central Library 10am-3pm (W)
May 09
30 STROUD HIV Aids Benefit Subscription Rooms (G) Evening
June 09
26 GLASTONBURY Festival Fluffy Rock Café (Afternoon) (G)
27 GLASTONBURY Festival Fluffy Rock Café (Afternoon) (G)
28 GLASTONBURY Festival Fluffy Rock Café (Afternoon) (G)
October 09
9 PLYMOUTH Central Library .National Poetry Day (Wy)

SOME WORKSHOP LINKS
Click on coloured link to view then close page or hit Back button

EVERTON FC ‘ Making A Difference’ Workshop Review Crispin ThomasSession at Everton FC Extra Time Study Support Centre

FOOTBALL STUFF Crispin Thomas BBC Video Nation (Real Player) Crispin at Forest Green Rovers with Casio and a ball.!

3 INNER GOAL GOAL the poetry of football..a journey in rhyme
by Crispin Thomas
(Illustrated/Paperback) Published by Football Poets Books
ISBN 9780955 737602 £8.99

click here INNER GOAL on Amazon

“Poems in the street, the ground and the heart, poetry with balls!”
Michael Foreman
“One of the pioneers of football poetry.Who ate all the pioneers”?”
Attila The Stockbroker

BOOK NOTES
“A rhythmic feast for football lovers everywhere both young and old. From rattles and rosettes to women’s football and the trenches, fantasy salaries and racism to mobile phones for goalposts. Spanning fifty years of watching and ten years of writing , Inner Goal is an affectionate and perceptive nod to the People’s Game in verse. A long-overdue and illustrated hard-copy paperback debut from football’s maverick performance poet featuring 75 poems, 65 haikus and hand-drawn illustrations from the author.

BY POST
Signed first run copies available at 7.99 +pp (£1.51)
Write to:Football Poets ,4 The Retreat, Butterow, Stroud GL5 2LS
(Tel 01453 757376) enclosing address+ a cheque for £9.50 made out to “OUT TO LUNCH ”

SHOPS:
National Football Musuem , Preston Tel 01772 908442
Stroud Bookshop , 23 High Street ,Stroud 01453 756646
Made In Stroud, 16 Kendrick Street Stroud 01453 840265
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USEFUL ORGANISATIONS

To find out about KICK IT OUT click here
Kick It Out

Show Racism The Red Card
Football Unites Racism Divides
Pioneering Black Footballers
Women’s Football-A Brief History
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4 . BLOG – A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FOOTBALL POET
from Stroud to Morpeth and Plymouth..and from Sutton Coldfied to Mansfield , Long Eaton and Stratford On Avon !

Hi again .Time to subject you to a Workshop day (well 10 days actually!) in the life of a football poet….on the road and on the rails !

SO WHAT’S A DAY REALLY LIKE?
I felt it necessary to dispel the legendary Take That / Frank Lampard / Ronaldo / Wannabe Football Poet Laureate celebrity image and myth of limos, riders and executive treatment that it doesn’t entail .

A HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY IN MANSFIELD & LONG EATON!
I’m just back from a great school in Sutton Coldfield where I ended up performing with 15 children reading their rhymes and raps for the first time in front of 400 in the main hall . Next stop was an invitation from Mansfield Town FC’s Stags Study Support Centre to work in a local Primary school for World Book Day . We made tiny books and wrote football poems and thoughts for aliens, and for anyone who would listen. In the evening it was a mad dash to Long Eaton where I worked with Jim Sells of The National Literacy Trust and a local puppeteer/story teller for Blokes On Board , complete with a PC and library-equipped bus!” This is an on-going Reading Champions project to inspire “blokes” to go into schools to encourage boys to read .

WORKING WITH HEROES & VILLAINS IN MORPETH
For two days I was back in Morpeth, Northumberland at King Edward V1 , a thriving and high achieving grammar school where I work with 160 Year 9 pupils. The theme of the two days is ‘Heroes and Villains’, with a strong focus on Martin Luther King . Each student brings in a picture of a hero and villain. Mine were : Roy of The Rovers and Darth Vader. Two groups writing poems on chosen heroes like Alan Shearer, Slash from Guns n’Roses and Martin Luther King to notorious villains who included (bizarrely) Sponge Bob Square Pants, Osama Bin Laden and Hitler. We also created a 15 minute play which we performed in front of 160 pupils about the life of Arthur Wharton ,the first ever black professional footballer in the late 1800’s. Finishing at 3.20pm it was a sleepy two hour wait for my 5.30pm train home to my cottage Then a 4 and
a half hour train journey back to Cheltenham. On finally arriving it’s a
dark and windy 45 minute drive to Stroud listening to Bolton vs. Arsenal in extra time. Rock ‘n Roll!”

KICKING INTO READING IN PLYMOUTH
The following week found me in Plymouth where I spent 5 days. I worked for Kick Into Reading with around 700 children alongside some great Plymouth Argyle trainers and coaches (Mark and Debbie) and one director (David) Football poems , riddles, games and stories all week-long in Plymouth libraries.

DAILY WORKINGS
When you start to link in as a one-off visitor with the intricate daily workings of modern schools, prisons, libraries, football grounds and study support centres the timetables, paperwork and lesson plans never fail to surprise . As a result I now involve no paperwork in the setting up of my workshops , in the effort to leave as small a football poetry footprint as possible and to stay as carbon free as possible. To this end, I go everywhere by train which is often veryearly and incredibly stressy , but far more relaxing than dnving .`The workshops are run on fun lines. All I want to do is inspire, from getting students thinking , writing and reading to getting up and performing work with gusto in front of their giggling mates and just having fun with words. I like sending myself up, and love making the kids laugh (at me), my silly poems, and to make them think a little deeper and laterally maybe. I want them to take the time to compose stuff on their own and then wax lyrical. To think and feel in the words of Catherine Tate..”I can do that ”

For the younger ones, we usually kick off with an action football poem or song that everyone can join in on, and I’ll do some stuff of my own . We use PowerPoint images to highlight any and everything to do with football. We are there to explore football , to write poems as a group and individually. One hour school based lessons are a mad rush, and I prefer longer with each class for quality, but however long , we always somehow get there. We always include a spontaneous group poem on the flip chart or white board (or blackboards in Porto) and usually leave about 15 minutes to perform them all. Here’s a poem I wrote on the way home from Morpeth opposite some bloke who got on at Leeds and kept snoring. It’s about my first ever Cup visit to Middlesboro FC. Allegedly! Go well! Crispin

15 Feb Down By The Riverside Crispin Thomas

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Crispin's World Cup Corner

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