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, presented the Antics radio show on Sheffield Live, and produced a series of site-specific sound and poetry collage-performances.
In recent years he has explored Skype poetry and improvisation in Life 2.0, collaborated with musicians from the Ella Luk project on a music and poetry piece called 'Time Is Running Out!', and written a script for Surveillance Suite, an auto-generative CCTV project by James Coupe. His sequence 'The Manager' was published by Happenstance Press as a pamphlet in March 2010.
After a spell in Iceland, he now lives in Nottingham, where he works for Nottingham Writers' Studio and is involved in organising the quarterly Word of Mouth live literature night.
Robin has run a range of writing workshops for young people and adults, including a Write Your Own Saga workshop he produced in 2009, which looks at ways of using the Icelandic sagas to write about personal and family history. He has also worked in community development, taught Russian literature, touted for open-top tour buses, and completed a PhD on the Bakhtin Circle in 1920s Russia.
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, Sheffield, and Reykjavik.
recent publications
- 'breakglass', 'Tread Carefully' (poems), Under the Radar, 8 (July 2011).
- 'Cyclone' (poem), LeftLion, 37 (October–November 2010).
- 'The Poetry Cafe' (review), BELLYFLOP Magazine (10 August 2010, www.bellyflopmag.com).
- 'The Hengill Trek' (travel article), Atlantica, 4 (Iceland, summer 2010).
- 'Afternoon of the Minotaur' (review), BELLYFLOP Magazine (11 May 2010, www.bellyflopmag.com).
- The Manager (pamphlet) (Happenstance Press, March 2010). Info
- 'COMMONSense' (poem), COMMONSense apazine, ed. Dougald Hine (Access Space, Sheffield, 2009). Info
- 'Manga' (poem), Long Poem Magazine, 2 (July 2009).
- 'Letter from Reykjavík' (article), Poetry Review, 99:2 (summer 2009), pp.116-17.
some past performances
- Say Sum Thin: poetry DJ set. Nottingham Playhouse (July 2011).
- Word of Mouth—Nottingham and the World: Skypelove poems. Antenna, Nottingham (May 2011)
- Word of Mouth: The Manager. Antenna, Nottingham (February 2011)
- Shindig!: The Manager. Jam Cafe, Nottingham (November 2010)
- Speak Easy: The Manager. The Hubs, Sheffield (September 2010)
- Happenstance 5th Birthday Party: The Manager. Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh (July 2010)
- The Manager and the Officer: Sheffield launch of The Manager with Matt Clegg. Bank Street Arts (June 2010)
- 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)
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.
