Greentree Poets

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The Green Tree Poets were a musical band who played at the Green Tree pub in Brotton in the 80’s. Often with East Cleveland Alternative Poet – Tim Beswick. They could also be seen sometimes at the Saltburn folk club upstairs at the Victoria. Tim Beswick was a lecturer at Redcar Tech and ran a Creative Writing course there and was also resident poet in Kevin Daws magazine Voice of the North. Tim also co organised a poetry reading in Carlin Howe mid 80’s with Gordon Hoyles and many others. (I met Gordon Hoyles there and booked him for the New Poetry Scene). Tim had a poem in the second Outlet from his book –

Outlet Magazine

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This Post is still a work in progress…

Outlet Magazine was the most important development to date.
Photo by Jerry Slater

Outlet began in autumn 1986 as bi-monthly poetry magazine for county Cleveland (UK). Funded by Northern Arts and Cleveland County Libraries and Leisure this A3 magazine went out free through the county’s libraries, bookshops,community centres and a mailing list of contributors, subscribers and contacts.


Although it was a poetry magazine, it’s aims were much wider, to provide a central focus for the local writing scene to provide information and facilitate contact.More over it was a launching pad for new initiative and it’s editorial policy (which often brought it into conflict with arts funders and the ‘official literati‘) was to be exclusive to those who lived, worked or studied in the area and to provide an outlet / encourage those who were just starting out, trying to gain confidence or perhaps had never seen them selves as writers before.

Of course Outlet was accused of being ‘parochial’ and of ‘doing these people no good by encouraging them’ or ‘we were doing a disservice saying anyone can do it -come and join us!'” Northern Arts offered us ‘training’ by other Editors in the region – usually of glossy Lit mags. The Outlet Editors were unanimous in their mission and resolve.

Previous involvement in the regional writing scene emanating out of Newcastle and the distribution of arts funding had shown us that County Cleveland was underdeveloped and looked down on. The purpose of our engagement with Cleveland (parochial though it might be thought of) was to redress the balance, to encourage new writers, build their skills and confidence and develop an infrastructure for them to grow so that eventually Cleveland writers participate in the regional and national literary scene with confidence and on an more equal footing. It was based on the same principal as women’s caucuses in trade unions. Women were under represented in unions, lacking confidence and having to deal with sexism. The idea of the caucus was not to separate but to build skills and confidence so women could participate in the wider union business on an equal footing with men.

All this was not lost on the largely working class contributors that we published or worked with but was, with exceptions, lost on the arts bodies and the established literati. Outlet stuck to it’s guns even if that meant it would never achieve the level of funding enjoyed by the regions other magazine. All of the editors had a wide experience and although from different backgrounds and although we express the policy in different philosophical terms – we were very in tune about what we thought we were doing and our objectives, and any new member on the team had to be able to get behind that.

The core and founding team of Outlet editors were –

Trev Teasdel – whose idea it was and who co-ordinated the project – was a WEA Creative Writing tutor -poet and songwriter who had run Hobo (Coventry Music and Arts Magazine in the 70’s)
Pauline Plummer

Pauline Plummer – born in Liverpool but living in Middlesbrough was a mother, poet (who has been well published over the years and now tutors on the MA in Creative Writing at Northumbria University and a member of Teesside Writers Workshop and Write Now. Pauline was also our first treasurer and helped with the funding applications in addition to her insightful contributions to the editing process.


Viv Harland – a poet and journalist with the Hartlepool Mail living in Middlesbrough at the time. Viv made a huge contribution to our publicity in the local papers enabling us to reach many more people than we otherwise would have and made valuable contributions in other ways- Viv was our first secretary, minute taker and editorial writer.
Terry Lawson with Librarian Alyson Perry

Terry Lawson – was a poet and former Jazz musician, shop keeper and


Terry Lawson & Alyson Perry – Berwick Hills Library with Outlet
 Lifeboat man from Staithes who was a regular student at the Arvon Foundation. Terry also had a strong vision for Cleveland writing and was a leading light in the development of the Write Around Festival and later on a Creative Writing tutor.Terry helped us steer Outlet and Write Around through many a rocky waves.
Mel McEvoy now

Mel McEvoy – was of Irish decent who grew up in Liverpool and,although a young man, had been a monk but decided to give of his service in the community becoming a male nurse.Mel was also a fine poet who we had first met when read at the Castalians – a spoken word and music event in Stockton on Tees Dovecot Arts Centre in the early 80’s. Mel also helped give feedback and guidance to first time contributors building confidence but encouraging them to improve.

In the main, this was the core team, but other members of the Teesside Writers Workshop and Write Now Groups and some of Trevor’s writing classes got involved from time to time or contributed specific skills. 
Notably Cath McKenna and Vera Davies 
On an occasional basis Richard MucMullan, Jerry Slater and Peter Stockill, Mark Beevers and Bob Beagrie.

Steve Gillgallon ( a Middlesbrough musician who played bass and Keyboard with Trev) took over treasury and secretarial duties at one stage and introduced us to word-processing on the Amstrad. Angela Morgan and Eileen Oliver also helped with typing from time to time.
Samantha Forbes and Brian G (BG) and John McGowan (Saltburn) supplied graphics for some later issues and Clive Rawson of Community Arts Middlesbrough provided early resource centre facilities for the layouts and contacts.
Jon Miles Longden did some accounting and helped with funding as well as contributing poetry and occasional proof reading.

New Editorial Team for Issue 10

Viv Harland and Mel McEvoy had left Outlet by issue 10 and some editors joined –
Andy Croft

Andy Croft – Literature Tutor with Leeds university Adult Education and poet joined us and the Write Around team which he went to co-ordinate for 11 years. Andy also built on Trevor’s Creative Writing course development in Cleveland via Leeds University Adult Education Community fund in Cleveland. More of that in a later post.


Richard Briddon – Richard was studying Humanities at Teesside University and had taken over the Middlesbrough Writers Workshop at the poly – which had developed out of the Multi Media Society in 1983. Richard had run The Mind’s I in Bath previously and the Entertaining Hope Competition in 1987. He went on to become a member of the Write Around team and founded Paranoia Press in Middlesbrough.
Margaret Weir – was chair of The Middlesbrough Writers Group at the time but wanted to form a poetry group and with the help of Trevor and Outlet formed the Phoenix Poetry group and became a Creative Writing Tutor for Leeds University Adult Education. She was also a co-founder of  Write Around.
Building the Infrastructure
While ostensibly publishing and encouraging new Writers in Cleveland, Outlet helped to bring groups and organisations together and launch new groups and initiatives. Trevor was busy launching new classes around the area – anywhere that Outlet got a good response from south of the Tees Trevor managed to persuade the WEA to run a Creative Writing Course there. This was useful to WEA as course by then needed a minimum of 10 students to run and Outlet had identified potential writing students and publicity in the paper or via a flyer in the library usually brought the numbers up. The students who had come via the publicity rather than Outlet often contributed to it. Every where there was a Creative Writing class,mostly led to the creation of an informal Writers group. Students who joined subsequent classes in that town or village often joined the Writers group as well and members who joined the writers group with out going to a class were pointed in the direction of Trevor’s classes. These new writers ground the area and the pre existing ones provided a basis for Write Around in that in each town was a writers group that would and host and organise events as part of the Write Around Programme from 1989 onwards. Trevor set up the following new groups from his classes.Write Now, Redcar Writers Group, Guisborough Writers,The Phoenix Poetry Group, Bramblethorns Writers Group, Yarm Writers Group – PLOY (in fact two in Yarm – one in the evening and one in the day.) Later he helped form the Saltburn Writers Group.) . Additionally Joy Lorraine of the Horden Writers Group in County Durham formed the Free Writers of Southbank. Kath McCreery (writer in residence) had helped for the Berwick Hills Writers Group.

Outlet encourage the formation of new magazines (there was much more material coming out of the area than Outlet could publish) and some saw themselves as rivals although from Outlet’s point of view it was out purpose to stimulate new initiatives. New Magazines that developed before Write Around began in 1989 Exile (Saltburn) and Top Copy (Hartlepool) and Derek Gregory of Middlesbrough Writers Group was market researching a ‘High Quality’ magazine called Tees Valley Writers. It had been the intention of Outlet to also produce a high quality magazine as well as there was a need in the area also. This was Terry Lawson’s idea at the first Editorial meeting in 1986. We never had time to initiate that so we welcomed and supported Derek’s initiative  on this. Paul Williams (whom I later ran the Writers Cafe at the Arc with in 2004) had a piece in the Gazette wanting to develop a tape magazine for the blind. Trevor approached Paul and tried to help produce a tape version of Outlet.The project never came to fruition but in 2004 Paul and Trevor launched the Writers Cafe at the ARC in Stockton from Paul’s initial idea which was a huge success.

WRITE AROUND
The origin of Write Around has turned into mythology after 20 odd years. Here’s the early development. Back in 1985, Trev Teasdel and Terry Lawson  and the Teesside Writers Workshop had been on a mini bus trip to Tyneside to do a joint performance night with Tyneside Writers Workshop. On the way back, Trevor outlined his vision for what would become Outlet Magazine. Terry meanwhile thought Teesside should have a literary festival, a small affair with some of the name poets that Terry had met at the Arvon Foundation. Trevor was involved with Community Arts Middlesbrough and had done workshops for their Community Arts Festivals. Trevor was keen on developing a Community arts writing festival in the area – maybe with a few high profile poets like Roger McGough, John Cooper Clark. The two began to weave their ideas together. The two put the idea to the Teesside Writers Workshop and Community Arts Middlesbrough. At that time thee were serious problems with the Teesside Writers Workshop, one half needing encouragement and skill boosting and the other of a more elitist viewpoint in terms of editing the anthology. The idea was withdrawn and Trevor tried to launch the magazine through the New Poetry Scene which ran – Streetclean – one issue produced and later Teesword – with Vera Davies as co-editor. However funding it was another matter. After Trevor’s First class and the formation of the Write Now Group in 1986, Trevor put the idea to the new group which included all of the editors such as Terry Lawson, Pauline Plummer etc. and the first issue was produced in the autumn of 1986. At the first meeting of Outlet – Terry reminded us of the Literary Festival idea and thought we should moot it in the second editorial and approach Cleveland Arts for support as this was a big project requiring a lot of resources. In Feburary 1987 the idea was mentioned in the editorial and Trevor contacted Cleveland Arts. An initial meeting was arranged with Outlet bring representatives from all the writers in the area from Hartlepool to Brotton and other contacts and Cleveland Arts brought the arts funders, libraries and local authority arts officers. The idea took two years to come to fruition, Terry’s and Trevor’s initial ideas being cut down to make it achievable.In May 1989 the first Write Around was launched and in itself took over from Outlet as the main launching pad for new projects.

Following on from the first Outlet, we made a BBC2 Open Space Programme about Outlet and Write Around broadcast in 1990. By then Outlet had completed it’s development work.After the first Write Around and range of resources for writers had develop, most of which will be blogged about on the site.

Entertaining Hope

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In May 1987 Richard Briddon (then studying Humanities at Teesside Poly) organised a Children’s poetry competition for the NSPCC as part of  Entertaining Hope. It was judged by Literature staff at the Poly- Sue Reid, Bruce Ingraham. Richard Briddon was also co-organising the Middlesbrough Writers Workshop at the Poly and became involved in Outlet / Write Around before launching Paranoia Press. Details of Entertaining Hope in flyers below.

WEA MIDDLESBROUGH BRANCH – 1986 – 89

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The WEA (Workers Educational Association) Middlesbrough Branch under the Tutor/Organiser – ship of Maude Warwick played an important role in the development of the Cleveland Writing Movement.
It was a difficult time for the voluntary WEA branches in the area owing to changes in education provision and the industrial and trade union structures. Course were much hard to get off the ground than before. Family History was always popular but little else was automatically guaranteed to achieve the minimum number of students. A lot of hard work was put in by a largely ageing but totally dedicated voluntary branch. Frank Talling and his wife for example, were long standing members and advocates of the WEA and worked hard for the branch well into their 80’s, even through increasing ill health and disability Frank Talling held important posts such as Chair and Secretary and in terms of local literature, was a poet and long standing member of Poetry 20+.

Newer recruited to the branch had been Andy Croft, who since, 1984 had run a number of literature courses for the local branch and a couple of Creative Writing courses (Hemlington 1984) and Stokesley (1986). By the time Trev Teasdel joined the branch and taught his first class in Jan 1986 – Writing for Fun – at the Albert Hotel in Middlesbrough, had had become chair of Middlesbrough branch, soon to leave and start work as a Literature tutor for Leeds University Adult Education at Harrow Rd, Middlesbrough,where the WEA Middlesbrough Branch met.

Andy Croft would come back into the story after 1990 when he managed to achieve funding from the University Community fund to run a wide ranging programme of free creative writing classes in the Cleveland area. Meanwhile Trevor did a lot of ground work through Outlet Magazine and his development of the WEA Creative Writing Programme between 1986 and 1990. A list of the courses can be found in the previous post. These courses, along with Outlet, and a new development of informal writers groups, laid the basis for the annual Write Around festival from which Cleveland’s literary development flourished. Trev, with the help of tutor organiser Maude Warwick and his work with Outlet and Community Arts Middlesbrough, established first step Creative Writing course all around the Cleveland area South of the Tees – with students attending from north of the Tees such as Hartlepool and Stockton. Trevor’s courses recruited well during a down turn because of Outlet Magazine’s popularity and publicity.



Much of this will be documented in other posts on here and in Rebecca O’Rourke’s University of Leeds Research into Creative Writing in Cleveland  – Written on the Margins

ALTERNATIVE FUTURES
Meanwhile Trev Teasdel became involved in the Middlesbrough branch as Publicity Secretary, introducing

new

Alternative Futures
  members /students to the branch through his Creative Writing courses and after Andy Croft left the branch, began to put forward ideas to help the branch revive and survive. Based on a successful courses run under the title of Alternative Futures, tutored by a panel from an environmental group, Trevor suggested this could be developed into a wider programme and might involve re-branding traditional courses into an exciting and progressive programme and could be a key element in the publicity. Some of the courses and ideas were tried out and it did widen the programme but the resources weren’t their to develop the full idea. However it did introduce some new and positive thinking into the branch and brought in some younger blood into the branch.

Fuller documentation of this will soon be available on here via pdf files.
Here are a few of Trevors flyers for the branch c 86 /87


Family History

Music course

WEA Creative Writing Courses (From 1986 -1990) – Teesside

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WEA Creative Writing Courses (From 1986 -1990) – Teesside


Creative Writing courses of one form or another in the Cleveland (Tees Valley Area) had been part of the

provision but from 1986 they became part of a wider strategy between Outlet Magazine, Community Arts Middlesbrough (CAM) and the Workers Educational Association (WEA) through which Trev Teasdel was the link – as tutor, co-editor / founder of Outlet and member of Community Arts Middlesbrough voluntary management committee.


Through this strategy, Outlet magazine went out free through libraries in the area attracting new and developing writers and the courses were established in some of the places where there was sufficient interest, which was most places in the Cleveland area although WEA Yorkshire (which Trevor was involved with as a tutor and Middlesbrough Branch committee member) could only provide south of the Tees. At that time the Northern WEA region provided North of the Tees. This formed an infrastructure of a central magazine, creative writing courses and a network of writers groups around the area which formed the basis for the establishment of Write Around in 1989.
Provision of Creative Writing courses around the area before 1986 was provided in the main by the WEA, Leeds University Adult Education and the local FE Colleges. 

WEA Northern District provided courses in 
Darlington (with Writer in Residence / poet John Mingay); the 
People’s Centre, Hartlepool – with celebrated poet Charles Causley and established a long running Writers Group. 
Stockton – WEA ? University of Durham Centre in Hartington Rd. The popular Women’s Writing Course with Mary Cooper.

WEA Yorkshire District provided courses in
Stokesley (at the Comprehensive School) 1983. This was both a course and a Writers group with a string Ray Brown (83) Peter Rushforth (84) Andy Croft (85) Trev Teasdel (86) – others included John Bond and Eugenie Summerfield.
of tutors between 1983 and 1989 including
Middlesbrough (on the Hemlington Estate) with literature tutor / poet Andy Croft in 1984, a one term course which produced an anthology.
From 1986 to 1990 – Courses tutored by Trev Teasdel as itemised below.

FE Creative Writing Courses –

Redcar Technical College – with East Cleveland poet / tutor Tim Beswick (long standing during the 80’s)
Longlands College Middlesbrough / Billingham Tech / Kirby College Middlesbrough and Hartlepool Tech with novelist tutors such as Barbara Gamble, Eleanor Fairburn, Heather Bennett.
Cleveland County Adult Education ran some too.
Between 1986 and 1990 south of the Tees WEA ran between 3 to 5 courses a term with Tutor Trev Teasdel. These courses were part of a wider vision for the Cleveland Writing scene, to bring would be writers out of the woodwork, isolated housewives scribbling at the kitchen table, redundant workers, retired people often with little or no qualifications but stories to tell. With an Outlet in the form of Outlet Magazine and a growing network of informal writers groups (many of which came out of the classes) and negotiations in hand to develop an annual Writing festival (Write Around), the courses were essential to that development.

October 1987 – Outlet advertised – Darlington WEA Branch Poetry / Short Story competition – prizes totalling £250 – Closing date 20th November 1987. Entry details to Mrs Val Portass, Competition Secretary, Bennett House, 14 Horsemarket, Darlington DL1 5PT”

Trev Teasdel’s WEA Creative Writing Courses 1986 – 1990 –

1986
Writing For Fun – Organised by WEA Middlesbrough Branch and Community Arts Middlesbrough. 6 week course held at Albert Hotel, Albert Rd. Middlesbrough. Intention to provide a workshop course for some of the members of Teesside Writers Workshop but open to others. 20 people enrolled. The Write Now (workshop group) (as a splinter of the Teesside Writers Workshop, was a result of this course and some Write Now members formed the Editorial board of Outlet Magazine including Pauline Plummer, Viv Harland, Mel McEvoy, Terry Lawson, Cath Mckenna, Vera Davies. Start date Jan 30th 7-9pm. 

Writing For Pleasure – Organised by WEA Middlesbrough Branch and Outlet Magazine. Venue Newport Neighbourhood Centre, Middlesbrough.Start date Monday September 22nd for 10 weeks 7 – 9pm. Some members would later join Margaret Weir’s Phoenix Poetry Group in Middlesbrough and contribute to Outlet. Notably members of the class – Pauline Plummer and Vera Davies (both Outlet Editors).

Creative Writing – Organised by Stokesley WEA branch and Outlet Magazine.Venue – Stokesley Comprehensive School 7 – 9pm Start date Tuesday 23rd September 7 -9pm. The Stokesley Writers Group, by arrangement with WEA had a tutored course each year from 1983 with a different tutor each year. In 1986 Trev Teasdel was the tutor providing a one term course. Trevor introduced the group to The new Outlet Magazine and and some members got involved in the developing Write Around negotiations from 1987. Trevor also produced the groups first anthology, enabling the group to learn the production and editing skills involved and using the then state of the art – Amstrad Word Processors. The anthology was called Leven Lines with a cover designed by local historian Daphne Franks husband. Daphne Franks also gave Trevor a copy of her book Printing and Publishing in Stokesley which later led Trevor to develop the George Markham Tweddell Website with Paul Tweddell, the descendant of this 19thC influential Chartist, poet, printer and publisher. Tweddell also wrote a history of Writers in the Cleveland area from 500 AD to 1870 -The Bards and Authors of Cleveland and South Durham – available as a pdf download here (It will take a while to load as it is a 300 page book!).

1987

Autumn Term

Writing for Pleasure – Evening Course Tues 7.30 – 9.30 organised by WEA Middlesbrough Branch and Outlet at Middlesbrough Settlement for three terms during 1987.


Writing For Pleasure – Day Course for two terms at the Middlesbrough Settlement and the autumn term at Acklam Library.

The result of the 1987 courses were two anthologies – Little Acorns (from the Day classes) and Reflections (from the evening classes) both published by Outlet Magazine. Some of the students joined the Phoenix Poetry Group in 1988 and contributed to Outlet.

Although the courses were run in Middlesbrough, because Outlet was Cleveland wide and so was the press publicity, the student were from all over Cleveland.

1988
Spring Term
Creative Writing – 18th Jan, Sunnyfield House, Guisborough. Organised by WEA Guisborough Branch and Outlet

COURSES 4
 Magazine. 10 week course 2 – 4.

Creative Writing – 19th Jan – 7.30 – 9.30 The Settlement – Organised by WEA Middlesbrough Branch and Outlet Magazine.

Creative Writing -21st Jan – 1.45 – 3.45 The Settlement -WEA Middlesbrough Branch and Outlet Magazine.

Summer Term

Creative Writing – For Age Concern,St Mary’s Centre, Middlesbrough 10 – Noon, organised by WEA Middlesbrough Branch, Outlet Magazine and Age Concern. Start April 20th, 9 meetings.

Creative Writing, Sunnyfield House, Guisborough. Organised by WEA Guisborough Branch and Outlet Magazine

Creative Writing – The Middlesbrough Settlement, 7.30 – 9.30 WEA Middlesbrough Branch and Outlet Magazine.

Creative Writing – The Middlesbrough Settlement -Day class, WEA Middlesbrough Branch and Outlet Magazine.

CourseS2

Autumn Term

Creative Writing – Sunnyfield House, Guisborough – WEA Guisborough Branch and Outlet Magazine. Day Class

Becoming a Poet – Venue Teesside Poly Humanites Dept – evening class open to all comers. Organised by WEA Middlesbrough Branch and Outlet Magazine.

Creative Writing – Berwick Hill Library Middlesbrough – Organised by WEA Middlesbrough Branch and Outlet Magazine and Berwick Hills Library. Afternoon class.

Creative Writing – Saltburn Women’s Institute, Diamond Street. Organised by WEA and Outlet Magazine. Afternoon course.

Creative Writing – Yarm Library – morning course.Organised by WEA and Outlet Magazine. (in sufficient students this time). Course eventually got off the ground and produced two wrtiters  groups.

Highlights of 1988 – Margaret Weir formed the Phoenix Poetry group which many students joined. The Guisborugh Writers Group formed and Trev helped Joan Dalton form the Redcar Writers Group. 

1989

Spring Term

Creative Writing – Sunnyfield House, Guisborough. Organised by WEA Guisborough Branch and Outlet magazine. Day course

Becoming a Poet – Teesside Polytech Humanities Dept. Organised by WEA Middlesbrough Branch and Outlet Magazine. Evening course

Creative Writing – Saltburn- WEA and Outlet magazine. Day course – Saltburn Community Centre.

Creative Writing – Yarm Library – day class. WEA and Outlet organised.

Creative Writing – Berwick Hills Library – day class. Outlet and WEA.

Summer Term

Creative Writing – Sunnyfield House, Guisborugh – WEA and Outlet. – day course

Creative Writing – Saltburn Community Centre – WEA and Outlet – Day course

Creative Writing – Ryedale School – evening course – WEA and Outlet

Becoming a Poet – Teesside Poly Humanities Dept. WEA and Outlet. Evening course

Creative Writing  – Yarn Library – Outlet and WEA – day course.


Autumn Term

Becoming a Poet – North Ormesby Library – WEA and Outlet- Evening course

Creative Writing – Guisborough Unemployed Workers Centre – WEA and Outlet – day course

Creative Writing – Saltburn Community Centre – WEA and Outlet Magazine. Day Course

Creative Writing – Yarm Library – Outlet and WEA day course

Creative Writing – Redcar Library – Outlet and WEA

Writing for Pleasure and Profit – at and for Leeds University Adult Education Centre, Middlesbrough.

Middlesbrough Book Week – East Middlesbrough Coalition – Trev Teasdel did a series of writing workshops in East Middlesbrough schools during Book Week.

Highlights of 1989. Write Around finally happened in May 1989 taking the development work up many notches. Two groups formed from the Yarm course – and evening and day group, run by Doris Pearly and playwright Graham Farrow. Richard Briddon,Trev Teasdel and Margaret Weir formed a federation of Cleveland Writers Groups to pool resources and have exchange visits.

1990

During 1990 Andy Croft,seeing the success of the WEA Creative Writing Programme managed to pull in some funding to run an expanded and free programme of Creative Writing Courses in the area with more tutors -many from Trevor’s Classes. The funding came from the Leeds University Community fund.More on this in another post but 1990 saw the tail of the Outlet WEA course development and the start of the Leeds University Provision for which Trev went on to teach for.

Spring Term

Creative Writing – Brambles Farm School – day course for Parents. WEA Middlesbrough Branch / Outlet.

Creative Writing – Guisborough,  Unemployed Centre, WEA / Outlet.

Creative Writing  – Saltburn Community Centre -WEA / Outlet

Creative Writing  – Yarm Library – WEA / Outlet.



Extract WEA Report 1989 – 90


Anthology of the WEA Middlesbrough Creative Writing Course at the Settlement.
Some photos of the Newport Settlement – Middlesbrough

And the Newport Neighbourhood Centre, Middlesbrough
Community Arts Middlesbrough Creative Writing Course for Special needs with
tutor Trevor Teasdel 1991
Evening Gazette 1987
Often we set up a Writers Group from the initial course in each place in the Tees Valley we ran a Creative Writing Course. This is the Guisborough Writers Group.

Kath McCreery – Writer in Residence -Berwick Hills Library

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Kath McCreery 

This was the third Cleveland Writers in Residence – following on from Bob Pegg 83 – 85 based at the Dovecot Arts Centre in Stockton and Pete Morgan in Middlesbrough 1984-85. The residency resulted in the formation of the Berwick Hills Writers Group which library Alyson Perry continued to run into the 90’s.

In the words of  Kath McCreery from the introduction to the resulting 1987 anthology Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow –

” The writers in this anthology took part in workshops and creative writing groups I led while I was Writer in Residence in East Middlesbrough from January t  July 1986.In the six months I spent at Berwick Hills Library and Keldholm Comprehensive School, my twin bases in the area, I was astonished at the number of talented people coming forward who had been writing for years with limited or no success at having their work printed or performed. Even more amazing were the adults who had not written since school but but who discovered in a workshop that they had something to say,the ability to say it, and that writing was fun.
The children were particularly rewarding:honest, direct, perceptive, thoughtful, and original regardless of their academic achievements.They too deserve to be heard.
The title for the anthology was suggested by Ida Wood, and it is certainly appropriate.Yesterday,Today and Tomorrow includes richly detailed reminiscences and autobiography,comments both serious and satiric on the contemporary scene, and deeply felt hopes and fears for our future.It is part of the process of reclaiming our history, of insisting on our right to a voice,of speaking for ourselves about the issues,the ideas, the feelings that we regard as important,whether we are young or old. All the voices here are unique,their pleasure in the use of language shines through, and I am confident that those who read it will share the pleasure.

Thanks to Carole Sloan of Berwick Hills Library who helped edit this anthology and is continuing to support the Creative Writing groups at the library, and to Mary Harrison of  Keldholm School who gave guidance, provided organisational back up and hospitality.Their enthusiasm and encouragement were essential ingredients in what was, after all, a pilot project.

And finally, thanks to Northern Arts and Cleveland County Council Education and Library Services for organising and funding my placement and financing this publication.Without their commitment to a policy of access to the arts for everyone,their initiative and enterprise,this anthology would not have been possible.”

Kathleen McCreery 1987

……………………………

Librarian Alyson Perry at Berwick Hills Library
with Terry Lawson – Outlet Co-editor  c1989 

This residency ran parallel with Trev Teasdel‘s first WEA Creative Writing course in Jan 1986 and although thee were no formal links some of the adult participants were common to both. Mel McEvoy – who had been involved with the Castalians and New Poetry Scene was also a member of Trev’s class an importantly became a co-editor of Outlet in the autumn of 1986. Joan Clark was also a member of Trevor’s class and became a contributor to Outlet. Jim Scanlon and Alan Watkiss were members of Teesside Writers Workshop.

Librarian Alyson Perry with Carole Sloan continued to organise the Berwick Hills Writing group into the 90’s and Alyson and Carole were great supporters of Outlet Magazine. In 1988 Alyson invited Trev Teasdel to run a WEA Creative Writing class for one term. One of the students and member of the Berwick Hills Writing Group – Joan Dalton commented that she wished there was something similar in Redcar where she lived. Trev helped Joan set up the Redcar Writers Group.

The second term a young Bob Beagrie came to the class at Berwick Hills and asked what he could go on to.Bob had written a Science Fiction / horror novel and was starting to write poetry. Trev helped him get on a Creative Writing and Art degree course in Crew Alsager and and got him involved with both Outlet and Write Around. When Bob returned to Teesside 3 years later, he back involved with the writing scene and became a major writing activist in his own write.

Alyson Perry and Carole Sloan joined the Write Around committee in 1987 and Berwick Hills library became the base for the organising committee with Alyson as our secretary. 

………………………………………………………..
Kath McCreery returned to Berwick Hills Library a year later with her new play The Taming of the Shrew – or Mussolini, Kate’s Part in his Downfall. Peter Stockill reviewed the play for Outlet – below.
Later in 1988 Kath McCreery’s play was staged at 
Berwick Hills Community Centre. Advert from Outlet.
In the next issue of Outlet 1988, Peter Stockill reviewed the play.

Write Now (Writers Group)

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WRITE NOW was formed in February 1986 as both an offshoot of The Teesside Writers Workshop and

the first WEA Creative Writing Course tutored by Trev Teasdel and held at the Albert Hotel, Middlesbrough in January 1986.


The idea had been to form a workshop group for members of Teesside Writers Workshop that needed a confidence and skill boosting element to the group. 

The group was based around Instant Writing sessions and feedback with some of the group providing the stimulus instead of the tutors – as was the case with the course.

The group consisted of former and current members of Teesside Writers Workshop and members of the Writing for Fun course which had just ended. The group was led by Trev Teasdel, following on from his role as tutor and had a small committee Patti Smallwood (also a prominent member of  Middlesbrough Writers Group) as secretary and Vera Davies and Viv Harland (also a journalist with the Hartelpool Mail. Other members included Pauline Plummer, Mel McEoy, Chris Bartlett, Terry Lawson,Duncan Rowe.

Early meetings were held at Middlesbrough Golf Clubhouse, Ladgate Lane Middlesbrough but eventually relocated to Trev’s house in Palm Street,Middlesbrough.

The group took part in various things related to Community Arts Middlesbrough when Clive Rawson switch support from Teesside Writers Workshop to Write Now, including  their Community Arts Festival, Middlesbrough Festival and the Write Together Collective.

It was through this group that Trev Teasdel managed to launch Outlet Magazine in the autumn of of 1986 with some of the Write Now group as editors (some had also continued to be part of Teesside Writers Workshop).

Write Now members who became the new editors of Outlet were Trev Teasdel. Terry Lawson, Viv Harland, Mel McEvoy, Pauline Plummer – and Vera Davies and Cath McKenna were involved for the first issue.

Write Now was an enjoyable and supportive group but the core group evolved into the editorial board of Outlet Magazine by the end of 1986.

Platform Poets

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My knowledge of Platform Poets is limited but I came across them via Darlington Poet Jerry Slater – a member of the Teesside Writers Workshop- who was published by them in 1984. His book was called Passing Places and Platform Poets seemed well established.


Platform Poets was run by Geoff Tomlinson from his home in Middleton St. George (near Darlington). In 1990 he had an article published in Tees Valley Writer and there was a short autobiographical piece about him – reproduced here –

” Geoff Tomlinson, a supply teacher in Cleveland, was born in Barnoldswick, Yorks. He moved to Lancashire when he was eight. People were so hurt at losing a potential batsman that they later moved Barnoldswick in Lancashire. He came to Durham in 1969 to lecture at Middleton St George.People were so upset at this that they later closed the college. He was redeployed as a primary school teacher but was eventually offered a lot of money to go somewhere else.”














Write Together (Keith Armstrong & Doff Pollard)

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Write Together was an annual gathering of Northeast Worker Writer Groups at Castle Chare Arts Centre in Durham (later Darlington Arts Centre) between 1984 – 86.

It was initiated and organised by Keith Armstrong (Durham Voices) and Doff Pollard (AGFA – Association of Community Arts North) in association with The Federation of Worker Writer Groups.

This was an important and much missed initiative that brought together a range of community based writers groups from Durham, Tyneside and Wear, Horden, Edinburgh and Teesside for a day of workshops, discussions and Performances and networking. An opportunity for writers to discuss issues ranging from writing techniques, community publishing, performance skills, funding, aims and objectives and more; to share work; see each group’s performance presentations and listen to guest poets and writers. Importantly it was a great networking opportunity resulting in mutual group visits eg between Teesside Writers Workshop and Horden Writers Group (Kevin Cadwallender group).

There were also talks and material available from the Federation of Worker Writers Groups.

Write Together Regional Publication Venture
In 1985, after a summing up by Keith Armstrong, Trev Teasdel of the Teesside Writers Workshop
proposed the formation of a Write Together Regional Publishing Venture, seconded by Pete Roberts of Community Arts Middlesbrough. Soon a working group was formed consisting of Keith Armstrong, Kevin Cadwallander, Trev Teasdel and Clive Rawson (who had replaced Pete Roberts at Community Arts Middlesbrough).
Trevor produced a set of proposals and the group met up variously in Peterlee and Middlesbrough to take the ideas forward and explore funding. (The basic proposals will soon be available as a pdf file here.). The proposals were in response to issues raised by various groups and included a regional Write Together magazine; pooling of printing community resources; development of a regional distribution network so groups get their publications to a wider audience; workshop on DTP layout designs; editing styles and other aspects of Community Publishing. Meanwhile Trev Teasdel, Clive Rawson and Kevin Cadwallander were added to the Write Together main organising committee and were involved with organising the 1986 (and last) Write Together, this time at The Darlington Arts Centre. Trevor also did a workshop in music and poetry at the 1986 Write Together.
Ultimately, owing to funding issues (Northern Arts were veering away from Community Arts funding at the time) and to disagreements, the Regional Publications Venture never came to fruition. There was a feeling in Cleveland that Teesside Writers were the poor relation when it came to Arts funding and that writing and support for it was under-developed as a result. During this period Trev Teasdel, Clive Rawson and Terry Lawson took the decision to concentrate on developing writing in Teesside and County Cleveland rather than on a regional basis. Soon they would launch Outlet Magazine in autumn of 1986 for Cleveland writers and initiating talks towards the Write Around Festival which came to fruition in 1989.
This focus on Cleveland was heralded by Cleveland writers but various arts officials and regional editors charged us with ‘parochialism’ . However Trev Teasdel and the Outlet editors fought their ground citing long term neglect (as compared with Newcastle) of arts and writing development in the area.There had been some but not a lot! They also argues that the strategy was like the idea of Women or black caucuses in Trade Union groups. The idea of the Cleveland focus was to build the skills, confidence and resources for Cleveland writers so that they could participate in regional events on more equal footing. 

The new strategy under the newly formed OUTLET magazine was  –
OUTLET – a free (through libraries) poetry magazine giving info, providing a launching pad for new

Keith Armstrong

initiatives, publishing work from writers, many of whom were just starting off or developing confidence and campaigning for more facilities. The magazine was financed by Northern Arts and Cleveland County Libraries and Leisure.

WEA CREATIVE WRITING COURSES – through work with Community Arts Middlesbrough, Outlet Magazine and WEA Middlesbrough Branch Committee, Trev Teasdel launched a range of Creative writing courses around the area to develop new writers, build skills and confidence. Those contributed to Outlet were invited to join a curse and those on a course could submit work to Outlet.
WRITE AROUND – Trev Teasdel and Terry Lawson took the idea of a wider forum – the proposed annual Write Around Festival forward – contacting Cleveland Arts for support in 1987. By 1989 negotiations were complete and the festival launched, lasting 11 years thanks to the continued support of Andy Croft. Write Around became an important launching pad in itself.

AGFA _ Write Together
So while the Write Together Publications initiative failed to get off the ground, the Cleveland / Teesside

writers movement did. Much of what followed was a result of these initiatives and current development by Bob Beagrie came out of this with Bob building on it and developing it further through Cleveland Arts and Teesside University resources.


Although later activists brought into the notion of our perceived ‘ parochialism’ too, what we actually did was to focus on the underdevelopment of the area and build a platform for local writers which later enabled them to develop out again into wider regional and national networks for writers, but, this time with strength.
Write Together Mins