Mark Bird, LISP 2025 Poetry Finalist, 'Council House Bricks'

- Could you please tell us about yourself and your daily routine?

I am a children’s author and part time teacher. I was born in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire but now love in London. I was actually born in a cemetery; my grandparents lived and worked there. I try to write every day, even after one of those tough days in the classroom. On my days off, I am slow to start writing and normally become more active and inspired by mid-afternoon and then write into the night. There’s no coincidence that I’m doing this interview at 15:30. It must be the way I programmed.

- When and how did you start writing?

I have loved writing since I was very young. As a teacher, I am trying to encourage more children to write for pleasure. A recent National Literacy Trust survey found about only 25% children now write for pleasure, down from 50% in 2010.

I started taking my writing more seriously in my 30s when I was living as an expat in Buenos Aires. I created a poetry website for children in the days where you had to build websites yourself. One of my most successful poems from this time is called, ‘The Full Stop Day’. It’s about counting down the hours of the last day at primary school. It was such a buzz to find it being used widely in the UK and many other countries too.

However, after returning to the UK, I became disillusioned with writing and trying to get published so didn’t write anything for about ten years. Then two wonderful things happened at the same time: I received an email from Gill Education in Ireland offering to pay to publish my poem. Sparks’ in their ‘Over The Moon’ series. I also started posting some of my old poems on Twitter. I received a message from Brian Moses, renowned children’s poet, asking if I’d like to be guest poet on his blog. From then on, I have not stopped writing. All I needed was a spark of belief.

- Where has your work been published?

My debut picture book, ‘Halloween Date From Hell’ came out in October 2022 followed by ‘The Klangaroo’ in 2024. I have poems published in several anthologies including Ana Sampson’s ‘Heroes and Villains’, Gaby Morgan’s ‘Cosy Poems’, Brian Moses’ ‘The Best Ever Book of Funny Poems’, Kathryn Beevors’ ‘Peak Poetry’, Jonathan Humble’s ‘Sky Surfing’ and in Gill Education’s ‘Over The Moon’ series. 

Most recently I have had poems published in Macmillan’s ‘Space - Royal Observatory Greenwich Poetry Book’, and ‘You’re Never Too Much poems for every emotion’

- What inspires you to write?

Working as a teacher is rich source of inspiration for a children’s writer – you just have to remain fully conscious to the fact that inspiration is everywhere, in every minute. I also get lots of inspiration from just listening to what people say, whether in real life, on TV or in songs. I also sleep with a notebook beside my bed as ideas seem to just love waking me up at 3 in the morning. There’s a wealth of untapped inspiration that lives in our sub-conscious.

- How does it feel to have your work acknowledged, whether through being a finalist in a competition or having it published? 

Getting my work published fills me with pride. I come from a working class and often dysfunctional background where boys like me would not become writers and poets. There is so much inspiration and material to be sourced in childhood; it’s definitely one of my biggest drivers. I especially love getting my poems published in anthologies, as it was poetry anthologies that inspired me so much as a kid. I used to read them, look at all the author’s names and wonder how they got a poem into this book I loved so much. I promised myself I would try and do the same one day.

- What's the most rewarding and challenging aspect of writing a story or poetry? 

I never fail to get a buzz when I find my poems being in used in schools and the wider world. Some of the highlights have been finding my poetry being used to inspire kids at boxing club in New York, being read at the opening of a community art mural in America and having a poem turned into songs. Recently, I even discovered one of my poems was referenced in somebody’s PhD. If someone had told me these things when I was ten, I would have choked or cried or both.

- How did you come up with the idea for your LISP-selected story? Is there a story behind your story? And, how long have you been working on it? 

‘Council House Bricks’ is about how vulnerable I sometimes felt growing up. I had started to write poems that dared to delve into the tougher parts of my childhood and this poem just came to me late one night. I felt it conveyed exactly what I wanted it to with just a few words.

- What is the best aspect and the most challenging aspect of competitions? 

You lose far, far more than you win, or maybe that’s just me. Saying that, some of my most successful poems were written for competitions I didn’t win.

- Finally, would you recommend that the writers consider submitting to LISP?

I would highly recommend that writers consider submitting to LISP. I never thought I would write a poem for adults that would do so well in a competition. I rarely write for adults, so being a finalist has given me newfound belief to write for older audiences and to also be braver in delving deeper into my past experiences. I am very grateful for that.