Boxing champion turned poet helps town tell tales

Matt Windle is working with men to write about life in Barrow

An ex-Commonwealth boxing champion who is now a poet is among four artists working with people to tell the story of their town.

Matt Windle, 33, a former Birmingham Poet Laureate, joined the BarrowFull project and runs workshops encouraging people in Barrow-in-Furness to tell stories of the town’s past, present and future.

It aims to increase participation in the arts, especially among less engaged groups.

Mr Windle said: “I quickly learnt that Barrovians are rightfully proud of where they are from and this project allows them to show that off."

The project hopes to help men in the town take pride in their written work

He has been working with men living in Barrow to explore short forms of poetry and spoken word in the 'Present' section of the project.

The sessions aim to engage "everyday people", whether or not they have a history of being creative or "have never put pen to paper in their life”, Mr Windle added.

One of the participants, Nige Milburn, 56, said taking part tested his "grey matter" and he was "absolutely loving it".

Another poetry recruit, 26-year-old Connor Lee-Mackenzie, said he wrote about nature and was enjoying "letting your emotions out a bit".

Phase one of the work has ended with the men’s poetry being written across the pitch of Barrow Football Club's Holker Street stadium and shown in The Forum in the town centre.

One of the poems was written on the pitch at Barrow's stadium

As well as looking at Barrow's present, artists Milly Rolle and Rich Rusk have started working with teenagers and older adults to imagine the 'Future', aiming to produce a series of short films over the summer.

They will be shared using virtual reality headsets at several free pop-up events in September.

Meanwhile, Barrovian women have been working with artist Sarah Hardacre to create the 'Past' part of the project, researching and uncovering stories of women's lives in the town.

Ms Hardacre said the idea is to "celebrate women from all corners of the community", including those who built Barrow, achieved fame and notoriety, were the first females in previously male-only jobs or led their fields in engineering and arts.

The project will end with a street celebration of all the women of Barrow.