This blog post was written by Kibriya Mehrban for www.theoverhear.app

In this week’s blog post we celebrate community and creativity with poet Leanne Cooper as she tells us about her work for the Newhampton Arts Centre. Not only that but, in the spirit of collaboration, we are also joined by Sam Fleming, Education and Outreach Manager at The Arena, who gives us a fascinating insight into what it’s like to be part of a venue working with an Overhear poet.

Leanne was put in touch with Overhear after applying to be Wolverhampton’s Poet Laureate.

‘The literature festival emailed me to say that they had another opportunity I could get involved with if I was interested. Of course I said yes,’ Leanne says, ‘it sounded interesting and different, like nothing I’d seen before in any other poetry projects. I’m trying to get my name out there at the moment and it sounded like a really cool thing to try out. I’d heard good things from other poets too – Emma Purshouse, Steve Pottinger and Dave Pitt. It was nice to be involved with Wolverhampton Literature Festival too; I came to a few things last year and the year before I performed as part of Poets Against Racism which Ian Henery heads up locally.’

We asked her to tell us about her chosen venue, Newhampton Arts Centre.

‘I was really excited to get Newhampton Arts Centre,’ she says, ‘because it’s a creative space, I really felt like I could get a lot out of it. I’d never been there before so it was all new to me. Unfortunately, I got quite ill right after I’d signed up to be part of Overhear, so I ended up having to do a lot of my research online – it was only in the final few days before I was booked in to record my poem for the app that I actually managed to go down to the venue and have a look around.’

‘The community they have there is really inspiring. When I was looking at their website, reading about what they do and looking at the reviews, it was really clear the support they had for other artists and it’s even more evident when you actually go to visit the place,’ Leanne says. ‘I saw that they had a resident choir called The Howling Wolves, and that was what really sparked the poem for me, that idea of creatives being like a pack of wolves – and tying it all to Wolverhampton being the home of the Wolves, of course.’

“The strength of the beast is in the pack with which it runs. Members supporting members, Picking up slack And watching each other’s backs. We are as wild and as curious as wolves - Artists that is...”

This project was a departure from her regular style, as Leanne explains: ‘My poetry is usually very personal. It’s about things that have happened to me for my partner or my children whereas this was a request to write about somebody else. I sort of managed to find that personal angle with it anyway, though,’ she laughs, ‘because those same themes of family and love come out again, this time about a community of artists. That’s what I’ve found in the poetry scene in the West Midlands, anyway – everyone acts like a big family. I’m part of the Walsall Poetry Society which is headed by Richard Archer, but poets from as far away as Stafford and Cannock embrace us as part of their family too. It’s pretty wonderful.’

‘I think part of it is we’re all underfunded,’ she says, ‘which means we have to stick together, but it’s also a case of… we’re all a bit weird and a bit different. I like that. I’ve got a soft spot for people who are misfits and underdogs and I like to see them get their chance to shine.’ She continues, ‘I really hope that my appreciation for artists and for Wolverhampton comes across in this poem. I spent a lot of my teen years in Wolverhampton – it was the place to be, growing up – and I’ve loved supporting and being supported by other poets in this area.’

She leaves us with this: ‘It feels like this project is a great way for poets in the city to collaborate with venues and with each other. The walking tours sound like a really great extension of that community spirit. I like the idea of having a group of people walking around the city led by poets involved in the project and I like the idea of unofficial groups getting together to collect the poems from different venues. I can’t wait to collect them all!’

To collect Leanne’s poem ‘Howling Wolves’, visit the Newhampton Arts Centre from 29th January and open the Overhear app, available to download here.

To see more from Leanne visit her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LeanneCooper.Author/