Af harrold biography

Biography.
The basic biography goes like this: (1) Born in Sussex in 1975, did childhood things.
A.F.

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Biography

A.F. Harrold has won Slams in Birmingham, Brighton, Cheltenham, London, Oxford, Reading, Windsor and possibly other places. He has lost Slams in a number of places including, Cheltenham, Exeter, London, Oxford and Vancouver. He also writes children's poems and visits primary schools being funny, tall and excitable. For details, examples, pictures, and other stuff visit my web site (above).

Samples

*Plankton* Some plankton I know had difficulty getting to sleep at night. Went out and bought a relaxation tape. 'Pacific Whale Song'. Didn't help much. *Fairy-Tale Poem* When I was just an ugly duckling I asked my mother, 'What will I be? Will I be handsome? Will I be a swan?' Here's what she said to me... 'No, you'll be a duck, just a particularly ugly one.' *37 Ways To Leave Your Yak* You can leave it as left luggage at Fulham Broadway Station. You can leave it in your will as a gift to all the nation. You can wrap it up in paper for an elderly relation. Or send it back to Amazon as a customer cancellation. You can chain

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An Interview with A F Harrold

Ferelith Hordon interviews A F Harrold – poet and creator of Fizzlebert Stump (the boy who joined the library!) and now Greta Zargo, a girl capable of saving the world.

What do you ask a writer whose work has a strong whiff of anarchy? A writer who creates very funny books for young readers, as well as novels that lean to magic realism – oh and poetry both for children and adults?

I decided on the safe approach – what was his background? A F Harrold was born and brought up in Horsham – ‘a very nice Sussex town’. From there he went to Reading University and has stayed in Reading ever since. He started writing poetry when he was about 15, ‘mostly as a means to impressing girls’. This may seem an odd decision, but as he explained ‘I was choosing an art form, and poetry is the cheapest art form – all you need is a bit of paper and a pen or pencil.’ He admits that his strategy didn’t work, despite the example of Leonard Cohen, who described poems ‘as nets to catch girls in’; as Harrold wryly points out, he was not Leonard Cohen. Nonetheless

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About

A.F. Harrold is an English poet, performer and children's author.

You can find out all about his work for children here.

This website collects together the things he does that aren't necessarily for children. There are poems, songs, books, videos and things that are similar to, but not necessarily the same as, the above.

The basic biography goes like this: (1) Born in Sussex in 1975, did childhood things. Started writing poetry. (2) Went to university in Reading in the early 1990s, did student things. Continued writing poetry. (3) Got a job in a Blackwell's bookshop in the late 1990s, did work things. Started taking part in poetry slams. (4) Became a full-time poet when the bookshop was shut down in the early 2000s, did jobbing-poet things. Started winning (some) poetry slams. (5) Ran some poetry workshops in schools in the late 2000s, did more jobbing-poet things. Started writing poems and stories for kids. (6) First children's novel published by Bloomsbury in the early 2010s, did more of that stuff. Pottered and loafed. (7) Repeat stage (6).

Although AFH doesn't do