Bridgnorth poet wins award
Coalport Girls, the National Trust, and even the M6 Toll road are all featured as part of a new award-winning collection of poems by Shropshire's Keith Chandler.
The Goldsmith's Apprentice is Chandler's first collection published since he moved to the area and a number of the individual poems have already won prizes in competitions.
Chandler, who lives in Bridgnorth – he moved to the town following his retirement from teaching – has given readings in Much Wenlock, Ludlow, and Wolverhampton, and has also just won the international Rubery Award for poetry for The Goldsmith's Apprentice, with judges saying the poems are "rich with texture and close observation, consistently sharp throughout."
The Rubery Award is a book award for independent and self-published books, with entries accepted from all over the world.
Chandler's works have featured in a Poetry Now programme on Radio Three, and a play with poems for Valentine's Day, called Card Trick, was commissioned and transmitted by Anglia TV.
The Goldsmith's Apprentice has been published by Fair Acre Press (www.fairacrepress.co.uk), based near Oswestry, and costs £9.99.
