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February 2025
HP Poet: Lizzie Bevis
Age: 40
Country: UK
Question 1: A warm welcome to the HP Spotlight, Lizzie. Please tell us about your background?
Lizzie Bevis: "Hello Carlo, So, my actual name is Elizabeth, but I have always been known as Lizzie since I was a little girl. Elizabeth quickly became my naughty name if I got up to mischief! I was born in Lincolnshire, England a month early in November 1984, I was meant to be a Christmas baby, but I did not want to wait! That was a smart move on my part. I have 2 brothers and a younger sister. I am the second oldest of the brood. I also celebrated my 40th Birthday last year quietly with family and friends.
I also love unicorns. My best friend Samantha often tells me that I should have been one because I am just too nice. Oh boy, I am going to try my best to condense this down as much as I can because I can write for England, Carlo! I have not always lived in Lincolnshire, I lived in Yorkshire from the age of 1 until I was 8. I was sad to leave my friends behind when we moved back to Lincolnshire to be close to my grandma who I adored. My lovely mum is sadly not a particularly good cook, so when I was 10, I told my grandma that my mum overcooked pasta to mush again, so my grandma discreetly taught me how to cook and bake on weekends. I quickly became the family cook, and I think that everyone was relieved!
I was independent in my teenage years, I got myself a paper round at the age of 14 and got my first proper job at the age of 17 in a shop and started saving up my wages. I was also quite sporty growing up, I enjoyed playing football with the boys, and I eventually became an FA-qualified football referee. I also discovered archery, and I became a Grand National Archery Association Archery Instructor. I also wanted to climb mountains, so I did. My first mountain climb was Mount Snowdon in Wales, I then went to Aviemore, Scotland to take on the Cairngorms and fell in love with the outdoors all over again, I remember seeing the Northern lights for the first time and they were breathtaking.
At the age of 19, my adventures took me all over Europe, and I visited Italy, The Netherlands, France, and Spain. My travels eventually took me to America where visited the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and I climbed up Pikes Peak; I then changed direction and toured New England. I enjoyed New England so much that applied for a 3-month work visa, and I became a head archery counsellor at a Summer Camp in Rhode Island, what a fun experience that was!
Going back to my childhood, my mum’s family hail from Yorkshire so living there meant that I could visit my aunts, uncles, cousins, and my grandpa. My grandpa used to work in the coal mines so naturally his lungs were in a bad way, and he was in and out of hospital most of the time. This was a life-altering moment and at the age of 4, I decided that I was going to become a nurse when I grew up. I would visit my Grandad at the hospital dressed up in my nurse's costume and help the nurses on the ward do the little tasks like filling up and distributing patients' water jugs and chatting with the patients. Grandpa would always give me his strawberry ice cream, he said that he didn't like it, but I could never understand why?! I have many fond memories of those days.
Ironically, I learnt that some things are not meant to be. I enrolled in university to study Adult General Nursing in 2015 but made national media instead for all of the wrong reasons; In July of that very same year, I had a cardiac arrest when my mum's little dog Daisy was put to sleep at the veterinary surgery. After surviving my brush with death, I spent 3 long weeks in hospital, and I was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome. I also learnt that stress kills and that Adult Nursing was probably not the best career choice for me! I am now Employed as an Adult Care and Wellbeing Advisor and love every minute of it."
Question 2: How long have you been writing poetry, and for how long have you been a member of Hello Poetry?
Lizzie Bevis: "I have been writing poetry since I was 11 years old, I was inspired when studying my English Language & Literature GCSEs at Secondary School. I remember the first poem that I ever wrote, it was called My Dog Sam.
My Dog Sam
He is as fast as the wind
Running through fields of green,
He is the smartest dog that I have ever seen.
He is black and white, an epic sight,
With eyes so keen and a mind so bright.
My Border Collie, my good boy Sam,
My loyal friend who understands
Every whistle and all commands.
By Lizzie aged 11.
At the age of 12, I had my first poem published in the National Poetry Anthology and I have had many other poems published since. Writing poetry has become a refreshing pastime, and I am often writing about something daily. I have been writing new material and adding my poems to Hello Poetry since September last year."
Question 3: What inspires you? (In other words, how does poetry happen for you).
Lizzie Bevis: "Inspiration for me can be as simple as an experience or emotion, it can come from a joyous occasion with family, feeling sad, being in love or from something far less complex; such as when reading a book, looking out of my bedroom window in the morning or walking through the churchyard. One of my poems ‘Epitaph’ was inspired by walking past a worn gravestone when I was visiting my grandma to lay flowers on her grave. I am fortunate to live in the Lincolnshire Wolds and be surrounded by history, rolling hills, farmland, and picturesque countryside."
Question 4: What does poetry mean to you?
Lizzie Bevis: "Poetry, personally for me is an outlet for creative expression. It is healing and it is cathartic. I find that I can write about anything on my mind and feel like a weight has lifted afterwards. I can convey my feelings and emotions freely. Poetry can be emotive, startling, inspiring and thought-provoking. I feel like I am giving my readers a little sneak peek inside my very vulnerable soul. I also like to experiment with humour, it makes a nice change to try something different sometimes and I enjoy making people smile."
Question 5: Who are your favorite poets?
Lizzie Bevis: "The first poem that inspired me to begin writing was a poem called 'I Am Very Bothered' by Simon Armitage. Being from Lincolnshire and living a hop and skip away from the birthplace of Alfred Lord Tennyson, it would be rude not to include his wonderful poem - 'The Splendor Falls.' I have enjoyed reading and have been inspired by many of Maya Angelou’s works in the past, I recall reading this poem to my daughter when she was 5 years old – 'Life Doesn’t Frighten Me.' Alice in Wonderland was one of my favourite books to read growing up, here is another one of Lewis Carroll's splendid pieces of work - Dreamland. I was also a science geek at school and was fascinated by Physics, Chemistry and Biology. I love the work of Sarah Howe, and this is especially one of my favourite poems - 'Relativity.'"
Question 6: What other interests do you have?
Lizzie Bevis: "I am a woman of simple pleasures, I enjoy spending time with my family, and games night is always a blast! When I am at home and not working, I often listen to music or watch a good documentary on TV. I adore my cats Timmy and Sooty, Sooty is a sleepy old boy now, but Timmy is such a rascal and there is never a dull moment at home, he has recently learnt how to open drawers! I also like to pass the time sitting in my armchair (usually with a cat on my lap) next to my log burner to work on the occasional embroidery task, and I do of course, enjoy cooking and baking lots of delicious treats, which I usually share with my family, friends and neighbours. I love being outdoors, I often go on long walks, breathing in the fresh air, and clearing my thoughts."
Carlo C. Gomez: “Thank you so much Lizzie, we really appreciate you giving us the opportunity to get to know the person behind the poet! It is our pleasure to include you in this Spotlight series!”
Lizzie Bevis: "Thank you Carlo for taking the time to plunge me into the February Spotlight! I would also like to thank everyone who has ever shown me kindness, support, and encouragement on Hello Poetry. You are all a wonderful bunch of poets, and I feel truly blessed to be amongst you. Keep writing and keep your visions alive because, without our creativity, the world would be a very dull place indeed."
Thank you everyone here at HP for taking the time to read this. We hope you enjoyed coming to know Lizzie a little bit better. We certainly did. It is our wish that these spotlights are helping everyone to further discover and appreciate their fellow poets. – Carlo C. Gomez
We will post Spotlight #25 in March!
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