Hay Festival: Alex Wharton

Lat week, I had the great pleasure of seeing Alex Wharton at the Hay Festival. His poetry collection, ‘Daydreams and Jellybeans’ is one of my favourites and I have used many of his poems in school with great success.

Full of energy and enthusiasm, Alex had the audience instantly captivated. He started with his poem, ‘Jellybean’ and soon had us all performing with him. Whilst queuing for the event, the man behind me had expressed concerns to his friend about whether the two little boys he was taking in would manage to stay engaged for the whole session- he need not have worried! They loved it, even taking part in reading a poem on stage with Alex!

Alex’s love of the natural world shines through his work and he explained how being in nature helps him to make ‘space and freedom’ in his brain to create- something which he encouraged the audience to try. He likened poetry to a therapy, saying that when we write, it helps us to untangle our feelings- something I have often found when using poetry with children in school.

Alex shared a selection of his poems, offering insights to the inspiration behind them, and encouraging everyone to join in and have fun. His passion for poetry was infectious, making this an excellent and enjoyable session for all. Most excitingly, he mentioned a new collection might be on the way soon…

Whether you consider yourself a poetry lover or not, ‘Daydreams and Jellybeans’ is a must have collection for everyone!

You can read my review of ‘Daydreams and Jellybeans’ here.