Poetry

'In poems both disturbing and beautiful, Davies writes of the sea changes that shape our lives whether through work, love, separation, age or illness. His alter ego Shedman is never far away haunting the urban periphery, exploring the treacherous life of the suburbs.' W Quaso

John Davies published his first collection The Nutter in the Shrubbery in 2002. In the same year he won an Archi-texts Award for his first residency as Shedman. He has also received an Arts Council England personal development award and received commissions from, amongst others, the High Weald AONB, Arts in Healthcare and private individuals. His poetry has been published in magazines and anthologies and he has read his work at events and festivals in the UK, Ireland and Europe. His first full collection Shedman was published in January 2008.

The Nutter in the Shrubbery

Published by Pighog Press ISBN 978-1-906309-00-8

'Different characters populate and haunt this collection. An Italian not feeling on top of the world, a woman dancing naked into a garden, a single mum in a filling station, a boy who takes himself as an hostage.

'Davies explores the treacherous, anxious life of the suburbs with an edge of menace and humour. Strange creatures and uneasy furniture stalk the undergrowth. And who is the nutter in the shrubbery?'

'He can conjur a strong poem from even the smallest or seemingly insignificant incidents or situations.' Brendan Cleary

'John's poems are sometimes laugh-out-loud funny but they can have a surreal or even disturbing edge. His readings pull you into a world that, like the shed, is reassuringly familiar but includes the strange and unsettling too.' Lorna Thorpe

Shedman

Published by Pighog Press ISBN 978-1-906309-01-5

Is a shed a substitute for something never had
a replacement mother, or a kind of flat-pack dad?

'So begins John Davies' much published and broadcast signature poem in his new full-length collection Shedman, named after his journeying alter-ego. Shed poems there are aplenty, illustrating Shedman's career since his first residency at Brighton's Booth Museum of Natural History. But this new collection also represents the broad spectrum of John Davies' work. Across the different sequences, Davies weaves together his themes with wit and seriousness in an array of carefully crafted, thoughtful and thought-provoking poems.'

'In the words of one of his own poems about the poet Michael Donaghey, Davies uses "…words as munitions/laser-guided to the meaning in us". Shedman is a collection that I read and re-read. Images, ideas and haunting refrains echo in the mind.' W Quaso

'Shapely poems filled with a sense of compassion.' Sasha Dugdale

'These are exceptionally well-crafted poems, shot through with the unexpected.' Anne Rouse

'There's a wealth of poetry here - and by that I mean a sensibility that's been working quietly away…accumulating all the virtues a poet must seek - wisdom, emotional depth, and the patience to piece together, word by word, line by line, image by image, a poem like Clothes of Grey, which takes all of its givens - of genre, of form, of tradition - and through diligent focus twists them and makes all them completely darkly brilliantly brightly new.' John O'Donoghue

If you're looking for John's alter ego Shedman, you'll find him here.

Buy John's poetry now

The nutter in the shrubbery

Shedman

John Davies is available for readings, events and workshops.
Please contact for more information.

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