The second volume of poetry from Southend based Stuart Bowditch was published on 21st February 2011 and is available to buy now.

Words from the Street is a collection of poetry written between 1999 and 2010. The 30 poems have been inspired by everyday scenes, encounters and observations made in the public arena, both in Stuart's home town of Southend-on-Sea, and also further afield: Colchester, London, Norwich, Reykjavik, Melbourne. The format of the book has been inspired by the Ordnance Survey map and is printed on a folded sheet of A1. It also includes a hand drawn map of Southend indicating the actual place where some of the encounters took place.


If you can't make it along to any of the supporting gigs or buy a book form Stuart himself you can use the button below to order your copy. 

Postage and Packing is set at £0.75 for any size order to anywhere.
***Please note that orders will only be despatched from 21st February 2011***

'They are technically poems but I like the non-poem-ness of them!'
-Katie English, Kultureflash

‘Stuart Bowditch brings an artist’s eye to the language of the streets, commentating on the ordinary and the extraordinary many of us would miss. His wry observations illuminate a work which is both a map and a journey through his life, but more than that, it is a study of a South East Essex adolescence in a voice which is unquestionably his own. ‘
- Adrian Green

‘A true pilgrim's tale via public transport and pedals.’
- Jo Overfield, Sundown Arts

'This is Stuart’s long awaited second collection of poetry, charting a truly remarkable body of work from 1999-2010, packaged within a really interesting design feature, a folded a1 piece of paper! So, what you find is you need to open the collection like an ordnance survey map, and also helpfully discover that this includes a map of Southend-on-Sea complete with locations which inspired a number of the poems within! 

If that wasn’t enough however, you then reach the words within; in every instance; Stuart deftly draws out the keenest observations from often seemingly mundane issues, and transmutes them by some secret alchemy into something simply outstanding. Not afraid to subtly laugh at his own condition, Stuart considerable humanity, humility and wit just oozes from each poem managing somehow to hit a chord with the reader that is not soon forgotten. Stuart’s words from the street resound, and never leave the ear of the listener.'
- Visionary Tongue Magazine

Lady Cyclist
23/07/06

Her l.e.d. flashes a wink
a slink between cars
i've seen her
the way she glides
the way she rides
the wheels on the bike go round and round, round and round, round and round the houses
to the shop
to buy velcro spots
panniers hide the goodies
free wheel through the hoodies
so cool calm collected
the wind in her hair
with every care to other road users
she even uses hand signals
and walks on the pavement,
i mean i consider myself to be an upholding member of society
and i don't even stop for red lights
it's a cyclists prerogative to be able to go where no cars can
a chance to beat the queues
to take shortcuts
under bridges over bridges to her destination
careful with that lock Eugene it causes aggravation
to wanna be thieves
people of no moral standing
she leaves them standing
there she goes graceful as a swan
but i like it best when she's been pushing and puffing
and sweating her way to the top of a hill
all flustered and slightly red but content
because what goes up
must go down
and how i wish i knew where the bike sheds were!