Preamble
Preamble My name is Richard Ashen. I have only recently tried my hand at writing poetry. It started unexpectedly after I became a volunteer at South Chingford Community Library (SCCL) in March 2012, shortly before the initial opening day. As the library developed over subsequent years, regular events appeared. From chatting with other volunteers, and after several failed attempts to start a book club, it became clear that there was an interest in poetry, and so a poetry reading group was formed, which used to meet in the library on the first Tuesday afternoon of each month, but from 2024 moved to Wednesday afternoons. When I learnt that others had written their own poems, and some were reading theirs out, I decided to have a go myself. I describe my genre as poetry of the mundane, or kitchen sink poetry, as most of my attempts are about odd or quirky events in my routine everyday life, which I recount hoping to amuse or entertain others. My background is in electrical engineer