Weardale

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Poetry (and Short Stories)

It was a crisp spring day with the promise of snow when I met Christine Powell in Hexham, earlier this year to discuss the possibility of me recording The North Pens Writers and producing a podcast of their work.  I had met Chris a few months earlier when I recorded her short story Diagonal Flight which won the prestigious Room to Write short story competition 2014.

And so this Summer, as I tootled over the moors, surveying the breathtaking North Pennines, I thought to myself rather smugly, ‘There’s not many people get a view like this on their drive to work’.

Stanhope Community CentreI made the steep descent into Stanhope, one of the jewels on the necklace of Weardale and headed for the community centre with my recording equipment to be warmly greeted by the North Pens Writers.

I had what was to be two wonderful sessions recording with much mutual support, laughter, a few tears from some very poignant stories and not too many retakes!  Recording their work was quite new to most of the writers, but judging by the feedback, they found it an enjoyable experience.

To listen to the work of the North Pen Writers CLICK HERE

To find out more about the recording project with the North Pens Writers CLICK HERE

Avril Grundy