Poet takes Great War journey

A JOURNEY to the battlefields of World War One has inspired a new collection of poetry by East Hull writer John Robinson.

Robinson, among the top five small press published poets in Britain, was given Arts Council support to travel to France a decade ago to research the Hull Pals, one of many locally raised battalions.

Supper At Ocean Villas is finally being launched at Union Mash Up on Prince’s Avenue next Wednesday - the centenary of the death of his great-uncle Percy Redhead, who the poet only discovered through his research.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “The idea was for me to follow the footsteps of the Hull Pals’ regiment and particular the journey of my own grandfather. “It was a lengthy quest and as a result the poems are, in my opinion, a deeply original response to not only the travails of the soldiers but to what the battlefields that they fought and died on are like today.”

Related topics: