What Happened Last?

March 2005

Stewart Henderson at Arc

I sat there with a glow of pride. Here was a poet of truly national stature, standing under the spotlights and holding an audience enthralled with his powerful blend of humour, insight and wonderfully crafted words. What is more, this was not some prestigious London venue, this was home territory. Stewart Henderson was presenting a night of high quality entertainment right in the heart of Stockton. I am sure such quality events happen locally more often than I realise. I am just very glad they do.

His first half was a mixture of children’s poems and adult ones that moved from the hilarious to the poignant with great speed and ease. They drew on every day life, his family history and his Liverpool background but managed to capture the “All Things Weird and Wonderful” streak that runs though his children’s anthology of that name. The audience’s biggest response of the half came as he gently pointed out some of the foibles of the Christian church through a poem “I Believe”, based loosely around the Anglican creed.

After the break Stewart shared some insights into his early life and influences and talked a little about his other activities. Stewart is a broadcaster and progamme maker for both BBC radio and television and is about to begin his next series of “Questions, Questions” on Radio 4. He also writes song lyrics and he talked about his very successful partnership with singer Martyn Joseph.

In the second set of poems Stewart departed from his original plan and picked out a number of pieces that illustrate the wonders, frustrations and absurdities of the spiritual journey. He also read a moving poem written as a special commission for the children’s charity, “Make A Wish”.

Stewart later described the appreciative audience as “a peach”, and he clearly enjoyed the interaction. There was plenty for those present to take away from the evening, laughter and thoughtfulness, memories of lines and phrases and signed copies of books. A great evening, and all on our doorstep!

Chris.