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Gervase Phinn |
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Gervase Phinn taught in a range of schools for fourteen years until, in 1984, he became General Adviser for Language Development in Rotherham. Four years later he was appointed Senior General Inspector for English and Drama with North Yorkshire County Council and was subsequently made Principal Adviser for the county. He is now a freelance lecturer and adviser, and Visiting Professor of Education at the University of Teesside.
He has lectured widely in this country and has published many articles on the use of English in education. He has published collections of his own plays and stories and has contributed to several anthologies; his own anthology of poems, Classroom Creatures, has also been published.
Gervase Phinn is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is married with four children and lives in a village just outside Doncaster. Books published by Penguin include; It Takes One to Know One, Up and Down in the Dales, Head over Heels in the Dales, A Wayne in a Manger and many more.
Gervase Phinn talks exclusively about the inspiration behind his poetry and the philisophical thoughts of 6 years-olds
NAME:
Gervase Phinn
PLACE & DATE OF BIRTH:
Rotherham, Yorkshire
27.12.1946
FAVOURITE BOOK:
The Selfish Giant, Oscar Wilde
FAVOURITE SONG:
Danny Boy
MOST TREASURED POSSESSION:
The books my mother gave me
When did you start writing?
I had a wonderful, inspirational, gentle teacher, Miss Wainwright, who taught me to love books and reading. My mother too loved books and read to me every evening and we talked about the stories and characters. I wrote a diary (aged 6), a long story (aged 8), a play (aged 9) and my first published book (aged 25). I love words and have always written.
Where do you get your ideas and inspirations from?
I read a great deal. One of my sons calls me a bibliomaniac! I love meeting, talking and listening to people (I’m an eavesdropper) so – I read and listen and write things down and the ideas form in my head.
Can you give your top 3 tips to becoming a successful author
1. Read: always read a little before you go to sleep, always have a book handy, try and read a book a week.
2. Write: write down in a writer’s notebook interesting words, phrases, anecdotes, ideas, snippets of conversation.
3. Listen: try and develop an ear for language, listen to radio plays and stories, teachers who read to you, interesting people who are in conversation.
Favourite memory
Sitting on my mother’s knee listening to her read my very favourite story, The Selfish Giant.
Favourite place in the world and why?
On the shore at Galway Bay watching the sun go down and turning the water to a great golden landscape. My mother was born near there.
What are your hobbies?
Reading, meeting people, visiting the theatre (with my family), delicious food, going to auctions, collecting inkwells.
If you hadn’t been a writer what do you think you would have been?
I am really a teacher and love working with young people. I still spend two days a week working with children and teachers. I had an early ambition to be an actor.
