Haltwhistle poet reflects on life in Tynedale

Bryan Stevens’ self-published Laughter and Reflection earlier this year, after becoming inspired to pursue poetry whilst on holiday with his wife in 2017.

“There was a poetry competition on board the cruise liner we were on, and the first place prize was a bottle of champagne.” Bryan said.

“I suppose it was the motivation I needed to share my poetry with others, but I never expected that I would actually win.”

After returning home from the cruise with a new-found confidence and a free bottle of champagne in tow, Bryan then got to work on crafting his first poetry collection, and in a matter of months had put 38 poems together.

Bryan didn’t have to search far for inspiration, finding an ideal poetic backdrop in the Northumbrian landscape.

His poem God’s Own Country is in fact written about the picturesque stretch of road between Catton and Allendale Town.

Bryan said: “I was driving with some friends and chatting away, when we all fell silent at the view before us. It was miles and miles of rolling hills and white clouds.

“Eventually one of my friends just muttered out loud ‘God’s Own Country’, and none of us could disagree with him.”

The poem 1947 was written in memory of Bryan’s youthful days in Tynedale, and remembers the blazing hot summer when everyone headed to the River Tyne for a community dunk.

The poem reads:

“No times like those, I guess, before or since,

We, who had the luck to taste them, fewer now can still relive those halcyon days, and smile.”

The Drake Stone in Harbottle also makes an appearance in the collection, as it was a childhood holiday destination for Bryan.

Other poems in the collection were inspired by sombre events in Bryan’s life, such as The Debt, which he claims was written as a form of redemption.

“It’s about how we forget to appreciate and thank our loved ones,” Bryan said, “and how we only realise the impact parents, teachers and partners have on our lives when it’s too late to let them know.

“I wrote the poem as a way to commemorate all the people I myself forgot to thank.”

Bryan also admits to having a “flippant” sense of humour, and this he says has been carried into his work, particularly in his poem The Owl and the Pussycat, Part II which retells Edward Lear’s famous poem where the animal duo sail away to marry and dance by the light of the moon.

In Bryan’s version however, the couple hit rocky waters in their marriage.

“You’re an utter disaster, you useless great Owl,

You’re not what I took you to be.

I’m off to Las Vegas to get a divorce,

And you bet I’m not going by sea.”

Of his varied style and themes, Bryan said: “I wanted the collection to be a mixture of the depressive and the uplifting, in other words a poem to fit every mood. If a poem can bring someone joy, or make someone think, then I’ll feel like I’ve done a good job.”

Although poetry is a new string to Bryan’s bow, he has dabbled in fiction and non-fiction writing in the past.

He has previously self-published several works of fiction including a memoir of his life as a lawyer called Soft Cases and Bad Law and a comedic novel called Boomerang, which is also set in Northumberland.

He is also a member of Haltwhistle Art Club and designed all the illustrations of Laughter and Reflection himself.

With regard to Bryan’s future, he says he does not hold much hope of making a career from poetry, but will continue to write and share his work if he has another wave of inspiration.

“I’m glad that I have something to leave behind,” he said. “I realised whilst composing the poems that writing for yourself is a bit like drinking by yourself, it’s always better if you can share the experience with others.”

Laughter and Reflection can be purchased in Cogito bookstore, Hexham or from Bryan directly on (01434) 321314.