me, my poetry, and I
a brief biography
Originally from London, Robin moved to Sheffield in 1999, where he ran Spoken Word Antics for five years, developed the Antics radio show on Sheffield Live, and organised a series of site-specific sound and poetry collage-performances. More recently he started exploring collaborative poetry improvisation, and in November 2008 he moved to Iceland for romantic reasons.
He also speaks Russian, and did a PhD on Mikhail Bakhtin, the intelligentsia, and the early Soviet human sciences in 1920s Russia. Jobs have included flogging tickets for London's open-top tour buses, teaching Russian literature, developing community health and wellbeing projects, proofreading, and leading writing workshops for young people and performance projects.
He has written about his orange sister, love on the internet, the water in Russia, and managerialism, among other things, and has performed at poetry events and festivals all over the place, from London to Newcastle, Manchester to Sheffield, at a virtual tea party, and at a wedding.
some past performances
- Text and Music (Signposts, Off the Shelf Festival): 'Time Is Running Out!' with Ella Luk. Riverside Café Bar, Sheffield (October 2009)
- Long Poems Magazine Launch: 'Manga'. Red Deer, Sheffield (October 2009)
- Summer Poetry Jam: The Manager. Café Rót, Reykjavík (May 2009)
- Missfit Mondays: The Manager. The Troy Bar, Hoxton, London (May 2009)
- Wicked Words: The Manager. Leeds (May 2009)
- Luxury Goods - the Value of Art (arts festival), The Foundry, Old Street, London (April 2009)
- Rhythm and Muse: The Manager. Teddington, London (April 2009)
- Spoken Word Antics, Sheffield (October 2003-2008)
- Life 2.0 (Skype Me! and Lost Voices) at Access Space, Sheffield (October 2008)
- Tea Party - a Night of Poetry and Music (DIY Poets): The Manager. The Art Organisation (Tea Bar), Nottingham (August 2008)
- Sheffield Green Fair (Sheffield Green Party) at St Mary's Community Centre, Sheffield (June 2008)
- Amnesty Benefit, the Castle Hotel, Newcastle (March 2008)
- Doncaster Writers' Fair (March 2008)
- Writers' Cafe: The Manager. The Old Georgian Theatre, Stockport-on-Tees (November 2007)
- Moral Panic II at the New Beehive, with Oliver Mantell and James Nash. Bradford (November 2007)
- Peace in the Park, Endcliffe Park, Sheffield (May 2007)
- Speaker's Corner (Aesthetica): The Manager. With Matt Black and Thom the World Poet. York (October 2006)
- Rony Robinson Show on BBC Radio Sheffield (July 2006)
- Verberate: The Manager. the Trof Cafe, Manchester (January 2006)
- Bradford Polish Centre, with Matt Black, Elizabeth Barrett, and Carolyn Waudby (winter 2005)
- Demolition, Sheffield Cathedral (October 2005)
- University of Sheffield Poets at the Centennial (Broomhill Festival) in Vittles Cafe, with Elizabeth Barrett, Matt Black, Liz Cashdan, Matt Clegg, Philip Howarth, Chris Jones, Jennie King, and Diana Syder (June 2005)
- Borderlines, Sheffield Independent Film (February 2005)
- Bcuk off at FOB, with Oliver Mantell and Phil Bowen: Sheffield (November 2004)
- Verbiage, Sheffield Winter Garden (October 2004)
- Sound and Word at Simunye, with Eleanor Rees, Jonathan Woolley, and Ella Luk: Sheffield (October 2004)
- Painshill Trust, Surrey (October 2004)
- Rotherham Arts Festival (September 2004)
- Russian cultural evening, University of Sheffield (May 2004)
- Arcadia at Bukowski's, Sheffield (December 2003)
- Abstract Faces exhibition launch at the Foundry, Old Street, London (November 2002)
- Taking the Mike, Merton, South London (September 2000)
- Virtual Tea Party, Merton Abbey Mills, South London (May 1999)
recent publications
- 'Manga' (a poem), Long Poem Magazine, 2 (July 2009).
- 'Letter from Reykjavík', Poetry Review, 99:2 (summer 2009), pp.116-17.
events/projects organised
For a full list of radio programmes, see the Spoken Word Antics Radio Show.
- Spoken Word Antics at the Red Deer, Sheffield. Open mic with guests and occasional special evenings. Every month, October 2003 to October 2008.
- Life 2.0 at Access Space, Sheffield. An exploration of writing and technology, with an improvised soundscape, Skype readings, viral text poetry, Lost Voices (a group poetry performance), and contributions from Richard Bolam (World X), Brian Lewis (multi-channel sound collage based on Matt Clegg's Edgelands), Linda Lee Welch and The Only Michael (FYI), and Jake Harries (spam songs). October 2008.
- Demolition in Sheffield Cathedral. A site-specific collage-performance of sound and poetry on 'change in the city', with the voices of 17 poets interwoven with one another and with the music of the Ella Luk Project. October 2005.
- Borderlines at Sheffield Independent Film. An evening of verbal performance, with Rachel Pantechnicon, Project Adorno, Jonathan Woolley, Robin Vaughan-Williams, James Lock, and Leanne Marks. February 2005.
- Verbiage in Sheffield Winter Garden. A site-specific collage-performance of sound and poetry on 'the garden', with the voices of 25 poets interwoven with one another and with the music of the Ella Luk Project. October 2004.
- Sound and Poetry in Simunye (Sheffield). A basement performance with music from the Ella Luk Project and spoken word from Robin Vaughan-Williams, Eleanor Rees, and Jonathan Woolley. October 2004.
