This is the first in a series - to mark our 20th anniversary year - where we go behind the scenes at Write Out Loud to meet those key players who work hard to keep our website ticking over. First up is Graham Sherwood, who meets and greets new arrivals to the site, and keeps a close eye on the poetry blogs. Graham tells us how he sees his role:   

I stumbled upon Write Out Loud quite by mistake - although rather fortuitously -in 2009 whilst googling poetry websites. I had started writing poetry seriously in 2002 following my retirement from a proper job, although I had been very keen as a teenager whilst studying A-Level English literature.

I very soon began entering into the spirit of Write Out Loud, writing poems and commenting on other’s work whilst enjoying feedback on my own. My stimulation for writing poetry may in the first instance sound somewhat mawkish. My father died very suddenly and whilst quite young and in typical fashion, as a busy working father myself, never had much time to ‘talk about the dad and son stuff’.

So, I decided to write poetry in a kind of diary style in order that my children will somehow have the opportunity to work out for themselves what made the old man tick, when my time comes. Hopefully they’ll make some sense of it.

Quite how I became a member of the Write Out Loud team, I am still trying to work out after having been asked by my ‘meet and greet’ predecessor to have a go at welcoming new subscribers and encouraging them to post their work, and also comment, too.

What has happened over the last 16 years has been nothing short of miraculous. Write Out Loud has such a wonderful following worldwide, enjoying contributions from all corners of the planet. It remains a free to use site (although donations, no matter how small are incredibly welcome) run by a very small band of volunteers, who are all absolutely bonkers about poetry.

The blog section, together with the Gig Guide, is the beating heart of Write Out Loud and I am unashamed to say it is the first thing I look at each morning. It is a fascinating portal for poets everywhere, a daily cornucopia of views and thought-provoking  poetry.

My job here on Write Out Loud is straightforward. I post an individual greeting to all new subscribers which tells them all the do’s and don’ts (necessary, I’m afraid) and I try to help them with any teething troubles they may have to get started on the site.

One very annoying and often distasteful job I have is checking for and quickly deleting spam entries, of which we unfortunately get quite a few.

I also have the job of contacting those subscribers who may transgress Write OUt Loud’s terms and conditions and code of conduct. Sadly, on a very few occasions I have had to delete or moderate their work. 

Whilst this can be a little tricky, I am glad to say we do not lose too many friends in the process. And I have certainly made some good friends and met some great poets online over the years. 

Keep writing!