‘Poems can help us stay alive to the world and stay true to ourselves’

Neil Astley and Meryl Streep signing copies of Staying Alive for one another at the book’s New York launch in 2003. 

The 3ebptc organisers are delighted to welcome influential poetry editor and publisher Neil Astley as a keynote speaker at our conference in October. Neil has revolutionised the face of contemporary poetry publishing since he launched the publishing firm Bloodaxe Books 48 years ago, and introduced thousands of people to ‘life-affirming’ poetry.

Neil founded Bloodaxe Books in Newcastle as a single-handed venture in 1978 and set about democratising an industry he deemed to be dominated by male, elitist London-based publishing houses. Over the last half-century he has championed outstanding working-class, and women writers, as well as poets from a wide range of ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. Bloodaxe has served as a platform for emerging and established, international and unconventional writers – many of whom have gone on to win major literary awards.

For those working in the field of biblio/poetry therapy, however, it is the ground-breaking publication of Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times (2002) and the following series of three anthologies that will chime as Neil’s most significant contribution to the poetry landscape. 

The Staying Alive anthology of ‘life-affirming’ poems, which to date has sold 250,000 copies and remains one of the UK’s most popular poetry books, is considered a landmark in literary publishing for dramatically broadening the appeal of contemporary poetry and gifting readers hundreds of thoughtful and passionate poems about how it is to live in the modern world.

Ensuing anthologies have also sold thousands of copies and made a still wider range of poetry available, introducing readers in particular to poets from around the world, much of it in translation. Each subsequent anthology also included poems suggested by readers of the previous ones. 

‘An Arts Council report published in 1999 showed that modern poetry had an image problem with the general public – it had a reputation for being obscure, difficult, dull, boring or pretentious,’ says Neil. ‘People thought it was irrelevant and incomprehensible.’

‘So Staying Alive was a response to those depressing findings: my attempt to show all those people who love literature and language and traditional poetry that contemporary poetry is relevant, that much of it is lively, imaginative, versatile and accessible to intelligent readers who’ve never given it much of a chance before.’

Being Alive, a sequel published two years later, included more poems that ‘touch the heart, stir the mind and fire the spirit’ and a companion anthology Being Human (2011) added poems ‘about love and loss, fear and longing, hurt and wonder’ reflecting the concerns of readers from all walks of life. Staying Human, the fourth book in the series published in 2020, puts a strong focus on the human side of living in the 21st century in poems relating to migration, oppression, alienation and the individual’s struggle to hold on, stay connected and find meaning in an increasingly polarised world.  

Two smaller pocket-sized anthologies Soul Food and Soul Feast are collaborations between Neil and his wife, filmmaker Pamela Robertson-Pearce. While the Staying Alive series feature modern poetry, the poems selected draw on many traditions ranging from Rumi, Kabir and Blake, to Rilke, Emily Dickinson and Paul Celan, as well as contemporary poets.  

Neil, a novelist and poet himself, set up the publishing house after a near death experience in Australia which inspired him to move to Newcastle and study literature. He says that the poems in the anthologies are chosen for their life-affirming qualities and ‘fired by belief in the human and the spiritual at a time when much in the world feels unreal, inhuman and hollow’.

‘They’re poems of great personal force connecting our aspirations with our humanity, helping us stay alive to the world and stay true to ourselves. Such poems can be so valuable to us that they become personal mantras, poems to be committed to memory and taken fully to heart,’ he says.

In his speech to the conference Neil is hoping that he will be able to extend the range of poetry that people use in their work. ‘I’m not from the world of poetry therapy, but as an editor, publisher and anthologist I’ve seen how the books I’ve published have been picked up by people who work in that field, and how they’ve been helpful to readers in weathering the trials and tribulations of life.

‘I don’t think I will need to spend time trying to persuade anyone present that poetry can help us, so I will take that as a given. What I’d like to try to do is to help expand everyone’s “toolkit” of poems which feed into the conference’s guiding metaphors, with a little help from my friends, the poets.’

‘The conference will provide us with shelter – somewhere for pilgrims to huddle in a storm’

The ebptc organising team is delighted that Welsh poet, spoken word performer and therapeutic writing facilitator Mel Perry has accepted an invitation to be a keynote speaker at our event in October.  Mel, who is chair of Lapidus International, a partner host of the event, is also playing a key role in the coordination of our event in Canterbury. 

Mel came to the field of therapeutic writing after a career in public health and substance misuse services and believes this to be an essential part of her journey into poetry and therapeutic writing.

‘I am honoured, if somewhat nervous, to be invited to share the platform as a keynote speaker for the conference.  Many of us in this practice are informed and grounded  by our own personal life experiences.  It becomes an essential piece of kit on our journeys with others as we gently facilitate participants'  personal reflection, sharing and insights,’ she says.

‘I hope to share a little of my story, layer it with my current therapeutic writing activity and celebrate more widely the variety and impact of this work.’

Mel first found comfort in poetry when she was director of alcohol and drug service Prism in Carmarthen in Wales, a role that she held for 17 years and which grew increasingly challenging:

 ‘I found myself taking poetry books to work with me. I would stand by the window of my office first thing in the morning and read poems by the likes of Gillian Clarke or Michael Longley – they felt like psalms or prayers --  as a way of settling myself for the day.’

A series of life events meant an abrupt end to her role coinciding with the death of her mother and uncle in close succession. ‘We lost the tender for the drug and alcohol service. ‘My mother died, the organisation that I had led for 17 years was obliterated and I was made redundant.. I went home, went to bed and didn’t go back to work.’

Mel says she was saved by an international literature residency in Sweden arranged by the arts organisation Kultivera, which opened up a new world of possibilities  for her in terms of her own personal writing and how it can be used with others. ‘I often say that I went to Sweden as a public health practitioner who wrote a bit and came back as a writer who worked for Public Health Wales,’ she says.

In 2016 Mel embarked on the MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes at the Metanoia Institute just a few days after the death of her father.  The course set her on a continuing journey of self-exploration: ‘One of the great things I got from the course was that it offered an opportunity to mine ourselves  for material and that is what I think is unique. It changed me in the sense that I can recognise myself now and reflect – I found my reflexive voice.’

Her research project exploring the power of spoken word poetry with women survivors of domestic abuse was published as an audio piece in the Lapidus international research journal LIRIC.

Mel has a firm belief in the potential of poetry to change lives and facilitates regular groups as well as writing her own poetry.  Her third collection Mineral Wealth, a poetic response to her relationship with her unmet grandmother and an associated family secret, will be published in November by Broken Sleep books.

‘Poems offer a chance to reflect quite deeply, and can unlock things very quickly. When there is a poem that has concrete images that can represent joy, grief, trauma, regret and people can experience themselves through that, it’s like seeing the light bulb come on…And when we read it out loud its’ engaging different senses which offers different keys or ways into ourselves.’ 

Mel attended the first two European Biblio-poetry conferences and is very much looking forward to the Canterbury event as a means of connection between other cultures, communities and languages and as an opportunity to share our common humanity. 

‘Experiencing our differences is enriching and informs our own practice. Given the precarious nature of the world this seems more and more important each time we meet. The conference provides us with shelter, somewhere for us to huddle together in a storm as pilgrims would. There is a realisation in that we are not alone.’

The four C’s at the heart of our conference

We’re thrilled by the early buzz surrounding the third European/Biblio Poetry Conference—we’ve started receiving proposals for workshops and presentations and social media is alive with interest from across Europe and further afield.

Our guiding principles for the event are the four C’s: communication, connection, collaboration, and companionship. We want these values to underpin not only the conference itself, but also the lead-up and legacy—helping to build the vibrant, supportive community that was initiated in Budapest in Hungary in 2024 and Jyväskylä in Finland in 2025.

If you’re thinking of joining us in Canterbury this October, do connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn and become part of the growing dialogue among fellow attendees.

On Facebook we’re inviting attendees to share something about themselves: What’s your story? What will you be bringing with you to Canterbury? These personal tales spark early connections, building a sense of community and set the stage for interactions at the conference.

Collaboration is at the heart of the whole event. We’re delighted to partner with Lapidus International, the words for wellbeing organisation. As well as being one of our keynote speakers Lapidus Chair Mel Perry is an important member or our organising team. We hope to see many Lapidus members at the event.

When it comes to shaping our programme of speakers and workshops, we’re looking for proposals that foster all four C’s. Academic conferences can sometimes feel inaccessible or dry, but our aim is to encourage presenters to make their research engaging and experiential—sparking discussion and inviting participation where appropriate. As we review applications in May, this will be our guiding light.

We’re also excited about our research-focused pre-conference workshop day: "Pilgrims of the Page: Building a Field Together." This is a unique opportunity for early career researchers and practitioners, who may not yet feel ready to present their work at the main conference, to connect with others by sharing work in progress, receiving feedback from peers and experienced mentors and building community together. The day will be facilitated by Dr Mariana Casale with support from other members of the conference team.

Ultimately, our hope is to create a welcoming, safe, and collegial atmosphere throughout the three days —where everyone gathers as companions in Canterbury, united by a love of poetry and literature research, and shared learning.

Finally, a reminder that our deadline for proposals is 3rd May. (You can find out more information about how to submit here.) Places are limited at the conference so we do encourage early booking to secure your place if possible

We can’t wait to see the community continue to grow, and we look forward to welcoming you in October.

Victoria, Mel, Mariana, Jon, Eduard and Anne