South Shields dad publishes first poetry book with inspiration from South Tyneside

Jake Morris-Campbell, has published his first poetry book, Corrigenda for Costafine Town which is inspired by South Shields – the place he grew up.

The 33-year-old has been writing for around 10 years and decided to write a book after his PhD at Newcastle University in 2015.

Taking inspiration from his home town, Corrigenda for Costafine Town has been described as ‘an odyssey through the North-East’.

Jake, who studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Chester, will be reading a selection of his poems at The Word on Saturday, November 13 at 2pm and invites everyone to join him.

He said: “I have always enjoyed writing and storytelling – I used to illustrate comics before now but my poetry really started during my PhD.

"I write about family, heritage, class, politics, dialect, landscape and community. The new book follows themes of heritage and history in the region and there’s so much of it that I wanted to include my local area.”

The dad says he enjoys writing about how he ‘feels about the region’ and the heritage behind it.

He added: “A theme that runs through the book is revision: the erratum slips, or corrigenda of the title, acting as creative ways to adapt and transform through poetry the complex relationships we have with places.”

The book, published by Blue Diode Press is now on sale here.

Support your Gazette and become a subscriber today.

Enjoy unlimited access to all of our news and sport, see fewer ads, experience faster load times, test your brain with daily puzzles and get access to exclusive newsletters.

Your support for our journalism means we can continue telling South Tyneside’s stories for generations to come. Click here to subscribe - and click here to get a snapshot of the Gazette’s news and sport to your inbox through our email newsletters.