November- Artist of the Month – Simon Mole

Our November ‘Artist of the Month’ is poet Simon Mole.

About Simon Mole.

Simon Mole is an acclaimed children’s poet (and sleep deprived dad) who has shared stages with Michael Rosen, Kae Tempest and John Hegley. His first picture book Kites was published in 2019, followed by I Love My Bike in 2021, and I Love My Cat in 2022. His latest book is an illustrated collection of non-fiction inspired poetry about dinosaurs – A First Book of Dinosaurs.

Simon is a National Poetry Day Ambassador, with over 15 years’ experience using rap and poetry in community and education settings, including projects with Great Ormond Street Hospital and Arsenal Football Club.

The tutorial videos at his YouTube channel are used by hundreds of thousands of children and teachers across the world each year, and have been featured on BBC Bitesize.

Write a poem with Simon in just ten minutes right now at his YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/simonmole

What a visit from Simon entails

Simon’s whole school assemblies are a chance for your children to see poems, raps and stories in a high energy interactive show. A popular touring artist, Simon delivers the same high quality performance experience for schools that he provides at major theatres and literary festivals.

His class or small group workshops usually begin with some fun (and quite silly) games, before Simon guides the group through a step by step writing activity. This prompt based approach is designed to support reluctant writers to get their ideas on page, but also offers inspiration for more confident writers to flourish.

Simon is a passionate believer that poetry can help anyone grow in self-belief, discover the power in their own voice, and think about the wider change that voice might bring about.

A booking with Simon includes a pre-visit video lesson using tutorial videos from his popular YouTube channel – whilst not essential these quick fire interactive prompts are a great way to introduce your class to Simon’s approach and build anticipation ahead of the visit.

Simon is happy to collaborate with a school on the creation of a bespoke project focused on a theme of their choice (environment, friendship, identity, space etc). He also enjoys delivering his tried and tested workshops.

You can read more about Simon and his school visits here

Interview with Simon Mole

When and why did you join Authors Abroad?

I had been doing some online workshops with an international school in Thailand, who were really keen to have me do an in person visit. I’ve been working in schools for over 15 years now, but I didn’t have the first idea about how to arrange something overseas. A friend recommended Authors Abroad and my one potential school visit quickly became a longer trip to lots of lovely schools in Bangkok!

When did you first become interested in poetry?

I think it goes right back to making up funny rhymes with my mum on the way home from school, or trying to re-write silly versions of song lyrics with my dad. Even as really little kids our brains are wired to enjoy predicting which sounds might come next…

I remember reading poetry occasionally at school, and I quite liked some of the ones on the GCSE syllabus but as a teenager it was hip hop and lyrics that really grabbed me.

Which poets do you admire?

My favourite at the moment is the Kate Wakeling – her latest collection, A Dinosaur at the Bus Stop, is one that my 5 year old daughter loves.

It’s musical, magical, thoughtful, and silly! And there are some fantastic suggestions for how grown ups might read some of the poems or get children involved.

Have you ever been star struck when sharing the stage with some famous speakers and performers?

Absolutely! One time back in about 2012 I got to read a poem on the same stage as Michael Rosen AND John Hegley - I was so excited I very nearly forgot the opening line to my poem, which up to that point I must have performed a hundred of times with no problem at all!

What are your favourite things about visiting schools?

All of it! I love the bit of a workshop when we are ‘just having fun’ and how those quite silly games can quickly turn into ideas that will be part of a poem. I love that quiet buzz in a room (ok, not always that quiet) as the young people start to develop those initial ideas into something with a little more shape on the page. I often use a series of carefully sequenced questions or prompt as a scaffold for their writing, but always make sure to leave space for them to follow their thoughts in their own direction – this means it’s particularly exciting when a child interprets something differently or in a way that I hadn’t expected. love hearing them sharing their work with each other – whether that’s a few lines or a whole poem.

And of course I love performing in assembly – I mean, which poet doesn’t like a gig to a few hundred people?!

Do you believe that an author or poet visit creates an impact that lasts longer than just the day of the visit?

Absolutely! On one level there is just the spark of inspiration and excitement – they’ve met an author, they’ve done some writing – poetry is their thing now!

And then the impact will of course be amplified at schools where they are able to continue to develop ideas, poems, and approaches after the visit.

On projects where I get to work with young people over a longer period of time, seeing them grow in confidence and self-belief as they begin to use and understand the power of their own voice and ideas is incredible. For them to understand how powerfully their words affect others is a transformative experience, which in the best cases leads to a real sense of their potential to bring about change in the world.

How do you engage the more reluctant readers and writers in your sessions?

I focus a lot on supporting kids to abandon their internal editors and to let go of the feeling that they must always ‘get it right’.

As we all know it is an amazing thing to see an unexpected idea land in the brain of a child, especially one who is then brave enough to say that idea aloud.

Countless times I have seen a suggestion made awkwardly, or quietly, or in a way that at first appeared slightly off topic, and then watched as these ‘accidents’ have become key elements of a poem.

Once you have taken the time to build an atmosphere that supports creative risks in this way, most classes will write astonishing amounts of high quality poetry in very short spaces of time.

You’re really great at engaging with schools before the visit and giving them some videos to watch beforehand – do you feel this helps everything go smoother and the young people be more excited?

Whilst it is not essential, I definitely find that it helps to build anticipation and excitement ahead of a visit – as well as allowing the children to become familiar with my approach. Some schools that have used my videos to write poems in class before the day, even get a few pupils ready to perform what they’ve written in assembly alongside what I will do (often some poems or a part of show I am touring)

Why are cats so awesome? What made you pick them over other pets?

Cats are the best! And a little mysterious too – it is possible to imagine all sorts of things they might get up to. Which makes them great characters for books! Also my first pet was a cat so I do feel some affinity for them. I managed to describe the cat in I Love My Cat so specifically that Sam Usher had no option to draw it to look exactly like the cat I had growing up!

Do you practice what you preach? Do you love your bike and how often do you manage to get out on a bike ride?

I certainly do! I’ve loved bikes all my life, and in return they have given me some wonderful memories. From long Sunday rides across the South Downs with my dad to cycling home late from gigs across London. As a boy I even fought off several of my friends to catch a yellow Tour de France cap, when the world’s biggest bike race visited Brighton. These days I probably get out about once every couple of weeks for a proper ride, and then just little trips to the train station or stuff like that. With the kids a bike really does turn every journey into an adventure - cycling manages to increase the independence and freedom of the younger riders, whilst also being such great fun to do as a family.

You recently travelled up to Authors Abroad neck of the woods and joined us in West Yorkshire to film one of the live sessions for Caboodle Classroom. How did you enjoy performing at the Carriageworks Theatre and did you enjoy the tea the night before?!

I have never had a finer tiramisu! And then of course Caboodle Live was awesome – it was very exciting to think that we were broadcasting live to classrooms around the world, as well as working with the little legends from the local school who came along to do the workshop!

Do you feel poetry can be used to educate and discuss more sensitive and serious issues?

Yes! I think that poetry is uniquely positioned to express those tangled, tricky, and therefore vitally important pieces of ourselves. So much of a poem’s meaning is felt as opposed to understood. The difference between what we say and how we say it becomes at times indistinguishable, as the sound of words, and their movement around each other, combine to spark connections and imaginings in the mind of the reader or listener.

I think that a truth or an idea that you feel, as opposed to conceptually understand, is something that stays with you.

How much did you learn about dinosaurs when researching your latest book?

More than I thought possible! But still definitely not as much as some young dino experts know!

I will admit I was pulling my hair at out points – turns out introducing the concept of evolution to a 4 year old within 10 lines, whilst writing in the voice of a jealous of Herrerasaurus isn’t as easy as I thought it might be!

There are lots of brilliant books full of fascinating facts about dinosaurs, but poetry forces you to be selective – I found it was all about which little gems will hook a young reader in, will make them laugh or perhaps turn away in delighted disgust, which will make them go WOW! And perhaps most importantly of all – which will make them ask more questions…

How do you and your daughter pick the books you review? (And if there is a disagreement who gets the final say?)

Haha! It’s a bit of a mix to be totally honest – some of them are long-time favourites that we have returned to many many times, whereas others are newer books that I have been recommended and think she might enjoy. We then read them a couple of times, have a chat about them and occasionally decide on scores out of ten – which don’t tend to feature in the reviews themselves!

What are you working on at the moment?

I am putting the finishing touches to a book of non-fiction inspired poetry about bugs – it’s the same gift book format as A First Book of Dinosaurs, which means it’s going to be a big hardback with lots of beautiful colour illustrations.

Quick Fire

Summer or winter?

summer

Would you rather be able to breathe underwater or fly?

Breathe underwater

Best cartoon cat of all time?

Does Hobbes from Calvin and Hobbes count? He is a stuffed toy Tiger that is very much alive in the eyes of his young owner – one of my favourite fictional duos ever.

Which is scariest a T-Rex the size of a hamster or a rabbit the size of a stegosaurus?

Definitely a massive rabbit, that is a terrifying and hilarious thought

Dessert or starter?

Dessert – if possible Tiramisu!

If you were Prime Minister for the day, what law would you introduce?

Poems for breakfast