January- Artist of the Month – Andy Craven Griffiths
Our January ‘Artist of the Month’ is poet and rapper Andy Craven-Griffiths.
About Andy Craven-Griffiths.
Andy Craven-Griffiths is a writer and performer based in Leeds, UK, who works in various genres. He has won poetry slams including Glastonbury, Manchester Lit Fest, and Munichslam, had poetry broadcast on TV and radio (Radio 1, Radio 4, BBC 2), and published poems in various poetry journals.
With his band, Middleman, Andy toured the UK and abroad, played live sessions for Radio 1, 6 Music, and XFM, and had music synchronized widely to TV programmes and computer games (NBA2K11, Channel 4, Channel 5).
In 2016, Andy was one of Radio 3s Verb New Voices. In 2018, he wrote and produced his first play, Joygernaut, which toured theatres nationally. In 2022, He completed his PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester.
As an educator, Andy has written a chapter for the Bloomsbury book Making Poetry Happen, made stop motion animations for Oxford University Press, and run writing workshops for more than 50,000 young people over fifteen years.
Currently, Andy is developing a new play and writing poems for a collection.
What a visit from Andy entails
Andy works with young people of all ages from 4 to 18. He also runs CPD and PGCE sessions. He offers specialised slam days in school or workshops with identified groups.
Details on Andy’s school visits can be found in detail on his author page.
Feedback from Andy’s previous visits.
Poetry visit to a Secondary School:
“Andy was great thanks and the day went really well. We found him to be really warm and friendly and able to get even the most reluctant students to participate. He had some good ideas and structure and changed his method when working with KS3 students and then KS4.
He worked with Y8 and Y9 students in the morning and they were all engaged and entertained throughout the session. During the afternoon he managed to draw Y10 and Y11 students out of their shells and, equipped with some writing tips, some were able to craft some very emotive poetry in a short space of time. I'm sure the techniques he gave them will stay with them for the future.
We hope to welcome Andy back again very soon.”
King Edward VII School
Poetry visit to a Primary School:
“Our visit was amazing. Andy was excellent with all of the children and they thoroughly enjoyed their time with him. They produced some high quality writing and more importantly had fun doing it.”
Caedmon Primary School
AIM High / Multiple schools days:
“I would just like to say that Andy was brilliant with the children. He had them engaged from the moment they walked through the door until they left. I kept dropping in the sessions and every time they were completely engrossed in their task and working cooperatively across all schools. The feedback from the other schools has been really positive as well. Andy is an absolute asset to your team and we would love to have him back in the future. It was an inspirational day for all the children which I hope will be reflected in their future work.”
Deputy Head Teacher, The Links Primary School, Stockton-on-Tees
CPD, Primary School:
“Thanks so much for your time last Friday and the resources you provided. I am already beginning to see the impact following some staff emailing me with some changes to their planning for English next half term - this is exactly the affect I wanted!”
Assistant Headteacher, Morley Victoria Primary School.
CPD , Secondary School:
“The other day I attended a 1-hour workshop offered by Andy Craven-Griffiths and after over thirty years of teaching poetry, this mere one hour really did provide new insights! I have always wondered how and why poets broke up the lines the way they did, and Andy offered a ready-to-use exercise that made this very device clear to us teachers. Immediately I tried out that same exercise in class and saw how it also taught my students more about this often overlooked but effective poetic technique than a long lecture would have done. Thanks Andy for this eye opener, and thanks also for the low threshold, sympathetic and funny way you shared with us all your insights as an active poet; thanks for this one hour out of your life: it has made all the difference.”
International School Het Rijnlands Lyceum Oegstgeest
Interview with Andy Craven Griffiths
How did you first get into poetry?
I heard my brother practising spoken word poems around the house and said I liked it. He said to go and try writing something myself. My pen hit the paper and I was still writing four pages later, so I realised I had things I wanted to say. I was so excited to discover it could be fun saying them.
Do you prefer poetry with rules or freestyle?
I think rules are really useful to improve and to help narrow down how to write and what to write when you feel like writing but aren’t sure what. The more I learn rules, the easier it is to break them and free-write or free-style. Kind of like practicing keep ups playing football. Once your touch is better, you can try new things in a game that are a little less obvious.
Do you feel more young people are recognising poetry as fun and cool instead of a forced area of the curriculum?
Yes. Partly because the curriculum is gradually including other things, largely because people are starting to understand that poetry is also rapping, song lyrics, silliness and a way of discovering what you think and feel about things.
You work with a wide range of ages in schools with a huge variety of formats – are there any particular types of day that are your favourite to run?
I love the variety. It keeps everything fresh for me to be able to write animal jokes with Year 2s one day, and help a sixth former write a short dramatic scene about coming out to their parents the next. AIM Higher days are especially fun because they’re a little more in depth with pupils who already like writing. Equally, in a 90-person slam workshop, sparking something in a Year 9 boy who thought poetry was **** (not very good) and that boy discovering a way to express themselves is deeply satisfying.
What has been your favourite/most memorable moment so far from a school visit?
So many! Let’s see. There was the time a Year 8 boy took it upon himself to award home-made jam to the winners of the slam. Another time with some Year 5s and 6s where we played a game that turned into a free-styled list poem on gratitudes. Another time when a girl wrote about her brother dying that made both her and me cry. That was a really special moment. After I read what she had written back to her she beamed. She’d found a way of saying something that she’d needed to say, that expressed the love she felt and also the sadness.
What do you find most rewarding about school visits?
The laughter, and the move towards a more positive attitude to poetry in so many pupils.
How do you engage those who are either shy or reluctant writers/performers?
By meeting them on their level rather than by telling them they’re wrong to be shy or think that writing isn’t for them. I invite them to try something first of all that is lower risk. In terms of performing, joining in with movement or clapping a rhythm, then reading other people’s words, then contributing to group poems. Usually, hearing their words read back to them has a huge impact.
Does performing in a band help you on stage at schools?
It taught me a lot about audiences, so yes. I learnt from the band that it is my job to set the mood. I’m the one that already knows poetry can be fun, and how to help others have more fun with it, after all.
Do you feel poetry can make difficult or sensitive topics such as bullying more accessible to young people?
Absolutely. As it does with grief, with love, with understanding and owning one’s own identity. There is something magical in poetry in that way.
You are a host and judge for our debut Leeds Secondary Poetry Slam, what are you looking forward to about the project?
So much! Helping young people find their voice. Hearing their thoughts and opinions. Seeing how proud they are of what they write and perform. And with the massive scale of the project, with so many schools involved, the opportunity to help to spark a new generation of young Leeds writers who might not yet know they love poetry!
You also run AIM High writing days for Authors Abroad. How do these differ from your author visits with us and what do you enjoy about these days?
The AIM High writing days are sort of the Bisto cube of poetry workshops. More of a masterclass. I enjoy being able to push young writers a little more, go into more depth and then hear brilliant writing from them.
Is it ever too late for someone to discover a love of literacy?
Absolutely not. My nan showed me poems she wrote after my grandad died and it was beautiful so hear her express her thoughts and feelings for him. There’s no age limit on enjoying words and using them to help to express your thoughts and feelings out, or explore a story.
With school timetables and budgets ever more squeezed and teachers having to make a strong case to host author and poet visitors, what benefits would you argue are brought to the young people if schools host these visits?
They change attitudes towards writing and literacy and give children tools to grow as people. I know that sounds grandiose but I believe it deeply. I’ve seen it. For some children, it will change their life.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m working with a director on a second play, ready to try to get it produced at a theatre. I’ve also started working on a TV script. It’s so much fun to be able to play with image as well as dialogue.
What is on your to do list for 2023?
Start submitting poems to journals again and building a collection. Sunbathe whenever possible. See friends more often.
Quick Fire
Summer or winter
Summer. I seem to be more sun-loving the older I get.
Would you prefer to be able to breathe underwater or fly?
Fly.
Favourite genre of book?
Dystopian novels. Also modern British plays.
Starter or dessert?
Dessert for main. Then dessert for dessert.
What is scariest, a crocodile the size of a guinea pig or a hamster the size of a hippo?
Massive hamster! Terrifying with those teeth.
If you were Prime Minister for the day, what law would you introduce?
Every secondary-aged child must study philosophy (or sociology, or psychology), so that young people are taught to question, to wonder, to think more about why things are the way they are, and how they could be different, better, kinder, fairer.
Arrange for Andy Craven Griffiths to visit your school
To make an enquiry about Andy, or any of the other authors, poets & illustrators listed on this website, please get in touch. Our office number is +44 (0) 1535 656015,
UK visits
Email: UKbookings@caboodlebooks.co.uk
Or contact Head of UK Visits, Yvonne - 01535 279850
Overseas Visits
Email:Overseasvisits@caboodlebooks.co.ukooks.co.uk
Or contact Overseas Manager, Robin - +44(0) 1535 279853