Ben Ray, a published poet from Ross-on-Wye, entertained a great audience at Ross Library recently, in an event hosted by Poetry on Loan and Herefordshire Libraries.

Ben attended John Kyrle High School and Sixth Form, and has recently graduated from Oxford University, studying History, and is now an accomplished, published poet.

On Tuesday, January 30th, 2018, Ben brought his unique brand of playful and reflective poetry to the library, and performed a selection of poetry from his book ‘After the Poet, the Bar’, as well as new works that he said he is hoping to publish soon.

The event was called ‘The Tightrope between the Stones,’ which he said may be the title of his next book.

Ben was introduced by Herefordshire Libraries treasurer Anne-Marie Dossett, who was proud to say that she had met Ben back in 2010, when she awarded him the title of ‘Herefordshire Young Poet Laureate,’ after he entered the competition with four of his poems.

He told the audience how this experience gave him so many opportunities, including a chance to perform at the Ledbury Poetry Festival in 2011 with Carol Ann Duffy, Britain’s Poet Laureate.

During the reading, Ben’s intelligence and historical influences became quite apparent, as well as his talent for public speaking. He also said that he is heavily influenced by events and news items, which he feels inspires him to write his most interesting poems.

Some of his poems were short and humorous, about his friend making him get up at dawn to do Yoga, meeting John Cleese, and thoughts he has had, such as: “Did it ever occur to anyone that exporters of Bonsai know the location of Lilliputia, but are just keeping really quiet.”

Other interesting titles included ’The Great Jigsaw Puzzle Panic’ and ’Mississippi on the Brain,’ which Ben called his closest poem to a tongue-twister!

A particularly thought-provoking poem, which Ben accompanied with a short introduction to Korean/Japanese history and a display board showing pictures of pottery, was a long Korean poem split into parts called ’A Short Guide to Sengoku Period Pottery’.

He also did an interactive poem, where he said “teach me to laugh like...” and the audience was encouraged to shout back responses, which he would then improvise with. Responses ranged from “a hyena” to “Mutley!”

Ben said he was always told to “end on a death” by his English teachers, as he pointed out quite a few of his former teachers in the audience, and read ‘’Exposition on Grave, Bees and Barrow’.

Audience members also had the chance to ask Ben a few questions, which included which poets he is inspired by, and how many drafts he does when writing a poem.

Copies of his book were on sale at the end of the event, which are avaliable to purchase at Rossiter Books and online, www.benray.co.uk - which is soon to be live.

The audience were also asked to fill out a feedback form to help promote and encourage future events to take place.

Ben told the Ross Gazette that he is currently working in Ross, but hopes to continue with his studies and complete a Masters degree in Europe, on International Relations.

He said that he also holds poetry workshops, and gives talks and one-on-one mentoring.