Heather Wastie

Biography

Poet, singer/songwriter, keyboard/accordion player, actor, humourist and facilitator Heather Wastie grew up in the Black Country. In 2006 she moved to Kidderminster where she was The Worcestershire Poet Laureate 2015/16. Heather is well known for her interpretations of oral history. In 2013 she was Writer in Residence at the Museum of Carpet, turning people’s memories into poems, monologues and songs, published in November 2015 by Black Pear Press under the title Weaving Yarns. Several shows in her performance repertoire were inspired by the history of canals, including two Canal & River Trust commissions. In 2017 she wrote and recorded poems for the popular Nationwide Building Society ad campaign, Voices Nationwide. Heather has published eight poetry collections. The most recent, To the Future, Love Cropredy was published by Lapal Publications in October 2020. She has also worked as a poet and actor for National Trust property Croome Court in Worcestershire. https://wastiesspace.co.uk

Samples

Holding on (for Sarah) In her more sentient moments my mother dislikes herself, says her silly old brain is infested with worms But mostly she operates in straight lines, like the angry trajectory of my cup, her move in a fiendish game of table-laying with indeterminate rules to keep me in check She will plummet to the floor to pick up a fleck of fluff, dart into the road to pull up a weed So I steer her to comfort zones, skirt round the table at meal times, settle her with a lap tray, set a mental alarm for bath time, sidetrack her in the street, holding on. © Heather Wastie 2nd prize: Carers UK competition 2016 https://wastiesspace.co.uk/poems/ ************************************** Folly This poem is folly, constructed for decoration, appearing to have some other purpose, so extravagant that it transcends the normal range usually afforded, and its structure is costly. It is a grand temple of a poem, symbolising virtues and ideals, with an element of fakery. It is deluded madness, a disorder of thought, though some will find delight herein. It is larger than it should be and is in danger of collapsing under its own weight. It is ornamental, a sham, calling attention to itself, deliberate and not strictly necessary. It appears to be a real, usable poem but it was made for pleasure, is impractical, just for show. © Heather Wastie Inspired by Croome’s Island Pavilion Published in Don’t Oil The Hinges by Heather Wastie (Black Pear Press 2018) https://blackpear.net/authors-and-books/heather-wastie/dont-oil-the-hinges/

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