Anneliese Emmans Dean

Biography

Since 2007 I’ve been performing my edu-taining poetry shows to children, families and adults in venues ranging from theatres, schools and libraries to environment centres, railway stations and the UK's largest planetarium. To give you a flavour, here’s what I got up to last year: https://thebigbuzz.wordpress.com/2017/12/21/2017-the-year-in-review/ I’ve appeared at festivals up and down the land, including the Hay Festival, York Festival of Ideas, Ilkley Literature Festival and Ledbury Poetry Festival. I’ve written two award-winning poetry-meets-science books that promote learning through laughter, rhythm and rhyme. ‘Buzzing! Discover the poetry in garden minibeasts’ has a Foreword by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, was shortlisted for the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize and won the North Somerset Teachers’ Book Award for Poetry. ‘Flying High! Discover the poetry in British birds’ has a Foreword by the V-P of the RSPB, and won the York Culture Award 2017 for Excellence in Writing.(https://thebigbuzz.wordpress.com/books/) I’ve been commissioned to write and perform by various BBC radio programmes (including Woman’s Hour, the Radio 2 Arts Show and Today), as well as by other organisations including the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, The Clerks (vocal ensemble), Cambridge Education Group, and York’s Chocolate Story. I visit primary schools nationwide, putting on ‘edu-taining’ poetry shows, followed by poetry writing and/or performing workshops – indoors or outside. (https://thebigbuzz.wordpress.com/schools/ and feedback at https://thebigbuzz.wordpress.com/schools/school-feedback/). I often take part in Ledbury Poetry Festival’s schools’ work, and I’m the head judge of The P-Factor, Ryedale Book Festival’s children’s poetry performance competition. You can hear me perform, and talk about the work I do, in this Ledbury Poetry Society podcast: https://www.poetry-festival.co.uk/podcast/anneliese-emmans-dean-sara-hirsch-poetry-salon-7th-november-2017/ And there are audio and video clips, plus lots more info. at my website, www.theBigbuzz.biz

Samples

This poem won the 'encapsulate the plot of a novel in a limerick' competition run by the New Statesman at the end of 2009. Can you guess the book I chose? From the farm they banished the people 'Hurrah!' cried the beasts. 'We're all equal!' But superior plotters With trotters, the rotters Took over. The End. (There's no sequel.) Anneliese Emmans Dean More at my website: www.theBigBuzz.biz

All poems are copyright of the originating author. Permission must be obtained before using or performing others' poems.