Nigel humphreys

Biography

Nigel Humphreys was born at Newport, Shropshire. However, for most of his adult life he has lived in the Aberyswtyth area. In 2006 he won two International Poetry Competitions and he was invited to read his work at the Hay-on-Wye Festival and the Edinburgh Festival. In 2007 his first Collection The Hawk's Mewl was published by Arbor Vitae Press, London. He also won first prize in the Decanto International Poetry Competition. In 2009 his poems featured in the Darwin Centenary Celebrations in Shrewsbury and was invited to read his work at the The Poetry Society's The Poetry Place, Covent Garden. In that year he also took part in Against The Grain with The Distillery Poets at the University Arts Centre. On Friday 30th April 2010 his second collection The Flavour of Parallel was published by Arbor Vitae Press, London, and launched at the Poetry Place, Covent Garden under the auspices of the International Arts Group known as The Gruntlers. On Friday 7th May it was launched at Aberystwyth University Arts Centre. He continues to be involved with Aberystwyth University Arts Centre Poetry Workshop and The Word Distillery performances. He also reads his work periodically as part of The Gruntlers Set at the Poetry Place, Covent Garden. A third collection is planned for 2012/13. He will be reading new work at Puskin House, Bloomsbury Square on November 18th (See events)

Samples

Henri Gaudier bellclap of iron on rock in the manner of relief, something of this: the block spitting out teeth, perhaps the slow calcification of the sculptor in marble dust as though with his own flesh he ransoms his subject from stone his mallet and chisel hatch an unbreakable cuneiform, split, cough and flitch, decapitate mitres, chip off cliffs, unshell a mountain peak here, a pinnacle there agonizing over each strike as if to a young queen’s neck tools of teeth and claw sketch thews, a narrow punch flutes a vein, chases bone, fine rasps grow skin to sweat grand cru and slowly . . . slowly . . . abstracted after many years an incarnation rifts from its quarry chrysalis: a young man poised on the plinth of acclaim, a monument to human potential he looks back through the sculptor at a truth resolved from magma and the creator fearing his glare shatters the statue with one blow

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