Biography

Mike Smith
http://liarsleague.typepad.com/liars_league/2008/05/hecho-a-mano-by.html

http://liarsleague.typepad.com/liars_league/2008/11/sal-and-me-and-big-ds-war-by-brindley-hallam-dennis.html

http://liarsleague.typepad.com/liars_league/2008/04/the-rage-by-bri.html

http://liarsleague.typepad.com/liars_league/2008/10/the-workers-on.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/features/2004/02/story_writing/winner.shtml

Currently teaches Creative Writing at Cumbria University.
2009 The story Talking to Maurice (as Brindley Hallam Dennis) wins 2nd prize in the Bank Street Writers competition
2009 The story Martin in a Hole (as Brindley Hallam Dennis) wins 2nd prize in the Grist competition at Huddersfeld Literature festival.
2009 A group of 5 poems including Ullswater Requiem and The Flickering wins the Sir Patrick Geddes Meorial Trust award, Edinburgh.
2009 The short play 'Smokes, a mime with words' performed at the Sydeny Short+Sweet Festival.
2008 Valanga published by Freerange Poetry, Carlisle
2008 The Flickering wins the Kirkpatrick Dobie Poetry prize, Dumfries.
2007 Martin Extinct, published by Freerange Poetry, Carlisle.
2007 Ullswater Requiem wins a Kirkpatrick Dobie poetry prize, Dumfries.
2006 Writing as Culbin Forrest, wins the Cumbria Life Magazine Short Story competition with The Ballad of Matty Lonnin.
Published in Stand, Outposts, Cadenza, Acumen, Tears in The Fence & elsewhere.
Broadcast Radio 3, Radio Derby, Radio Cumbria.
2004 Writing as Brindley Hallam Dennis, won Radio Cumbria Short Story Competition.
2004 Won Ottaker’s Carlisle Poetry Competition.
1970s. Published The Broken Mirror (Outposts)
Love Affair With a Landscape (Curlew)
Appeared in New Poems 1976/77 (PEN)
2005 Published No Easy Place (poems)
2006 Published (as BHD) Second Time Around (Short stories)
Appeared in Night Balancing (Blinking Eye)/ Both Sides of Hadrian’s Wall (Selkirk Lapwing Press)/ Small Voices, Big Confessions -short story by BHD-(EditRed publishing).
Member of Maryport Writers’ Group. Member of the EditRed writers’ online community. Reads regularly at Calrlisle’s Speakeasy, Penrith Blue Bell Bookshop. Co-organiser of Wordplay at NEO, Cockermouth. Co-founder of the Brewery Poets, Kendal ( a long time ago!)
1st Dogsbody for the 2007 Fringe Poetry event at Keswick: The Water Margin, and in 2008.

Samples

Mechanics (revised version)

He’s got that bloody poem stripped down again
The kitchen floor’s knee deep
In rough edged images
Discarded adjectives
A metaphor to fit
That won’t improve on it one little bit

He says it isn’t scanning sweet
And listens for a missing beat

It’s not as if he ever takes it out
But rides it in his dreams
Where he might leap the gulf
Between him and the world

He’s got that bloody poem stripped down again
And if he ever gets it running right, what then?

All poems are copyright of the originating author. Permission must be obtained before using or performing others' poems.