Shaun Belcher: The Back Story
Short paperback BIO version
Shaun Belcher was born Oxford, England in 1959 and brought up on a down-land farm before moving to a council estate in the small town of Didcot in 1966 just as England won the world cup..
He studied fine art at Hornsey College of Art, London from 1979–81
where he sat under a tree with Adrian Mitchell.
Began writing poetry in the mid 1980s and subsequently has been published
in a number of small magazines and a poem ‘The Ice Horses’ was used as the title of the Second Shore Poets Anthology in 1996.(Scottish Cultural Press).
He now lives in Nottingham, England after two years in Edinburgh studying folk culture and several years in the city of expiring dreams working as a minion at the University of Oxford.
He is currently enjoying retirement from 20 years of teaching and hopes to write something on a regular basis again. He has been involved in various literary projects including delivering creative writing workshops in Nottingham prison for the ‘Inside Out’ project.
He supports Arsenal football club.
Favourite colours therefore red and green like his politics.
We have not won the world cup again since 1966 and Shaun Belcher is not as famous as Simon Armitage although his songs are better.
‘a concern for language and for how it shapes memory and identity’
ANNA CROWE, LINES REVIEW, EDINBURGH.
‘Belcher cannot be accused of nostalgia or pastoral myth-making but is as vituperative in tone as Larkin’
RAYMOND FRIEL, SOUTHFIELDS.
..the poems individually and cumulatively preserve aspects of identity and genealogy rooted in a particular soil and way of life..an underlying humaneness’
STEWART CONN (Scottish Poet Laureate, Playwright )
‘your poem is so beautiful..I love the tenderness of the carrying of the horse which was rescued.’
(The Ice Horses)
TESS GALLAGHER (Poet)
Here the full fat BIO in fine boards and chained to a desk…
Born Oxford, England, 1959
Oxford Polytechnic Foundation Art & Design 1978-1979
Hornsey College of Art : B.A. Fine Art 1979-1981
Nottingham University Teacher Training P.G.C.C.E. 2003-4
Derby University Postgrad. Cert. in Art Practice 2007-8
Nottingham Trent University M.A. Fine Art by Registered Project 2012-14
I started writing poetry in mid 1980’s after Art College and from 1992 I was published in a range of literary magazines including Lines Review, Gairfish, Southfields, Staple, Slowdancer and Oxford Poetry etc. I then helped found the Last Gasp poetry group in Oxford in 1992 with Giles Goodland and Bridget Hobbs (Kursheed now).
I then moved to Edinburgh in 1994 following my heart (literally) and joined the Shore Poets in Edinburgh and a poem of mine was used as the title of the group anthology The Ice Horses in 1996.
This anthology was edited by Stewart Conn and Ian McDonough and included Ian Chrichton Smith and other leading Scottish poets.
I became interested in folk and alt-country music in the late eighties and still performs as alter-ego ‘Trailer Star’.
I moved back to Oxford in 1996 from Edinburgh and then started an online music review zine Flyinshoes which ran until 2004 under my editorship and then passed to Rob Ellen in Scotland and runs to this day ..see link.
I then lost my heart somewhere inside the M25 and moved to Nottingham in July 2002.
A ‘Tribute to Trailer Star’ CD ‘Moon Over The Downs’ was released in 2003 in aid of Cancer Research following my father’s diagnosis in 2002. He died in 2004 and my mother also passed away from cancer in 2012.
I then trained as a Further Education teacher at Nottingham University (P.G.C.C.E) graduating in 2004.
Since then I have taught a ‘varied portfolio’ including art & design, basic skills, creative writing in prisons (Inside Out group) and from 2007 to 2014 was a web design lecturer at NTU School of Art and Design which role ceased in July 2014 with the closure of the ‘Multimedia’ course. I am now retired from full-time teaching following a stint as a support lecturer at Nottingham College.
I have a bus pass.
I had a selection of my published poetry released as a pamphlet by Salt in December 2010 as ‘Last Farmer‘ in the Salt Modern Voices series and then read at a series of readings in London, Oxford and Manchester.
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POETRY READINGS
OPEN BOOK READINGS 2022-4
Helping fellow Nottingham poet Neil Fullwood run a monthly showcase at the Organ Grinder pub.
Full details here: openbook.org.uk
SALT MODERN VOICES TOUR 2011
Oxford / Manchester/ London /Nottingham
2008 STAPLE LAUNCH: LOWDHAM FESTIVAL
2001 BACKROOM POETS, OXFORD :
With W.N.Herbert & Joe Butler.
2000 FIRE MAGAZINE READING Highgate London:
various writers associated with Fire.
2000 LEDBURY POETRY FESTIVAL :
Three Oxford Poets with Giles Goodland & Jeremy Hilton.
1999 SOUTHFIELDS MAGAZINE READING :
Magic Cafe, Oxford with Richard Price & Giles Goodland.
1996 SHORE POETS :
Fruitmarket gallery, Edinburgh with John Purser & Gillian Ferguson.
1993 DIDCOT FESTIVAL :
Didcot Library with fellow Didcot poets Jonathan Davidson & Greg Sweetnam.
1992 SLOWDANCER 28 :
Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham with Kirsty Gunn and Mark Robinson
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Shaun Belcher standing in front of a lot of unread books..
To contact me use the comment form below
or simply email me at
shaundbelcher AT gmail.com