We had the pleasure of welcoming Mr Paul Maddern to Bloomfield Collegiate School. Mr Maddern is a well-known professional poet whose work has been selected by the examination board CCEA for their new poetry anthology on the theme of Identity. He came to speak to our Year 12 GCSE English Literature students.
The event went fantastically well; the students were a credit to the school and responded with enthusiasm and interest to what their visitor had to say. Mr Maddern read his moving sonnet, ‘Effacé’, and talked to our Year 12 students through the context, inspiration, form, language and structure of the poem and ways they could interpret it for their GCSE English Literature examination.
Most inspiringly he talked about his own life and the difficulties and adventures he has had that led him from Bermuda, where he grew up, to Northern Ireland, and from a career as a dancer to caterer to poet. It was fascinating. The girls asked very insightful questions, which he answered with grace and warmth.
It was a real privilege to hear him speak about his poetry and life story. Our GCSE students clearly appreciated it and made the most of the opportunity.
Photos of this and other English events and a video of Mr Maddern reading ‘Effacé’ can be found on our English Departmental twitter account: @EngDeptBCS
Ms A Kinsley-Smith
