One thing about putting this spoken word website together is my own personal discovery of lesser known yet most accomplished writers. That is they are skilful not merely in the art of composition but in putting together words that not only leave the reader or listener with a greater breadth of understanding in life but also elevate them to a higher emotional level.
Such is the work of Lake District poet Tom Rawling. I was first made aware of Tom and his work through Cumbrian writer, John Murray and put in touch with Michael Baron of the society who asked whether I would consider featuring Tom on my website. I did not need to consider for long. Although the website was intended primarily for writers of the North East, I decided that it was time to extend the boundaries.
Tom was born in Ennerdale, then Cumberland, in 1916 and spent his childhood around the family farm of How Hall. Tom left Ennerdale as a young man, returning for family visits and to fish. However, it wasn’t until his retirement after thirty years of teaching away from Ennerdale that he began to write poetry drawing from his rich boyhood experiences and his time serving as a soldier in World War II. This resulted in several collections to his name before his death in 1996. Well done to The Lamplugh and District Heritage Society which has recently put together a collection of Tom’s poetry in the book How Hall Poems and Memories, A Passion for Ennerdale together with a CD of Tom himself reading some of his work.
These are beautiful poems about a beautiful part of the world, but written without pretension or romanticism. There is a respect and sensitivity to the environment as well as total honesty about the crudeness and brutality that Tom observed in nature and farming growing up in a remote area of the Lake District in the 1920s. The book How Hall has been thoughtfully arranged with Tom’s own recollections of his time at How Hall together with photographs of his family and surroundings which give a wonderful context in which to place this poetry. Listening to Tom’s voice on the CD only enhances this appreciation.Click below to hear Tom reading I Can’t Put it all on a Picture Postcard
I can't put it all on a Picture Postcard by Tom Rawling
