According to W.B. Yeats - ‘Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire’. Most of us have an inspirational teacher or two that we remember with fondness, but not many have the opportunity to share a bill with them. But that is what happened when Write Out Loud poet - Pete Crompton, appeared at The Spotlight in Lancaster last month when he found he was sharing the stage with his old teacher and poetry mentor - Ron Scowcroft.

Pete writes on Ron’s website, ‘Absolutely fantastic to rediscover my poetry mentor. Last seen in 1985, 24 years later at The Spotlight club, I recognise a voice, then a name, then a face. It was a face that had stared back at myself and classmates all those years ago as he showed us Mitchell, Asimov, Plath and so many other contemporary writers that were to shape my poetic world.’

Ron, began writing poetry in his early twenties; after teaching for a number of years, he decided to complete his M.A. at Lancaster University, on the life and works of Mervyn Peake. He later returned to Lancaster to complete Ph.D. research on J.G. Ballard and visual art. He is a regular at The Spotlight, joined Write out Loud just a few weeks ago, and has recently had two poems published in the November/December 2009 issue of New Writer - Returning to Ben’s Cottage at All Hallows Eve, and Beneath the Ice.

Pete says, ‘Ron was a teacher I respected at School, I respected most if not all, but Mr Scowcroft’s ideas fitted my analytical approach and it worked for me, it shaped a lot of my writing. Perhaps I should ask him if he has any workshops......’

You can find out more about Ron, read some of his work, and be the first to know if he plans those workshops, at:

 www.ronscowcroft.co.uk