Rhiwbina Living 62

I had decided to read English.
Wednesday saw me change my
mind and I was doing Archaeology.
Thursday came around and I was
reading Political Studies but by
Friday, I was settled on History and
that was that."
Roger excelled at Cambridge, not
only in his academic studies, but
also in his extra-curricular activities.
"I was a British Schools Champion,"
he smiles. "I was an international
athlete and even held the Welsh
high jump record at one point. At
university, I became a Cambridge
Athletics ‘Blue’ and a life member of
Hawks Club (Cambridge University)
and Achilles Club."
Poetry was in Roger's blood, and
as a young man, it became his
passion.
"All the girls took an interest in
a poet back then so that was an
added bonus. I had started writing
in the footsteps of the protest
culture - people like Bob Dylan and
Allen Ginsburg, both cultural icons,
incidentally, that I'd go on to meet.
It was the poetry of Dylan Thomas
though that really captured my
attention.
"He always fascinated me, both as
a poet and as a person. He was a
misunderstood, unmade bed of a
man. The words of his final telegram
read: 'On my way to Hollywood.'
"Of course, he never quite made it
there. He was dead before he made
the age of 40 and since then, I feel
that Wales has quietly disowned
him a little. He was no more of an
alcoholic than others who are in the
public eye these days. You can't
sanitise him but similarly, you can't
not be influenced by him. I know I
was.
"For more than 40 years, I have
been planning a film drama
project inspired by an opera Dylan
Thomas was planning with Russian
composer Igor Stravinsky. I’d often
talk about it with Dylan’s daughter,
Aeronwy, when we were published
by the same press in the 1970s."
Roger's late teens and early
twenties were dominated by the
poetry he was producing. He
published his first book Just A
Matter Of Time in 1976.
"There was then this long gap
before I ever wrote poetry again
- maybe forty years or so while I
worked as a dramatist."
Those four decades saw Roger
write for an eclectic range of
productions - from Sooty to The
Royal Shakespeare Company.
"I spent many years teaching
creative writing to postgraduate
level at British universities, including
Oxford and Cambridge, and
drama schools such as The Royal
Academy of Dramatic Arts, Bristol
Old Vic Theatre School, and The
Royal Welsh Academy.
"For several years, as part of my
family production company, The
Stennett Company, I helped to run
and programme two 365-seater
regional theatre and cinemas in
Tewkesbury and Hereford."
Roger's childhood had given
him the background he needed
to flourish in the entertainment
business but that wasn't enough.
"I also trained to become a
Psychotherapist and Clinical
Hypnotherapist.I saw hundreds of
therapy clients in private practice
alongside my writing work."
He also became a black belt and
British Aikido Board Martial Arts
Instructor. But it was poetry that
Roger was eventually drawn back
to in more recent times.
"It was when Covid hit that got me
back into poetry. The theatres had
all closed down and opportunities
in radio and animation had all dried
up. It was during those times that
I picked up my pen and started
writing poetry again. There was one
moment where I'd written a poem
and realised that I still had it in me.
It had never left."
Today, Roger lives outside of
Wales, but is still able to cast his
eye on the place he still calls home.
"I live overlooking the Severn
Estuary and look over at the
homeland. I still write daily,
especially to my Roger Stennett
Poetry Page on Facebook. I love
people
to write about people, about life,
about nature. They're the things that
have been important to me and still
are.
"History and conflict has often
been a theme of my work too. One
work of mine is called Out of the
Sun and as part of the research,
I spent time with fighter pilots,
listening to their stories. My Dad
was a pilot so I spent a lot of my
time in the air but for this script, I
spent 8 hours sitting alone in an
idle B17 bomber. It was incredible to
absorb the plane's silent and untold
tales."
"As for the future, my creative
genes have also been passed
down to my son Sam, who plays
in the gypsy jazz quartet, The
Schmoozenbergs (www.schmusic.
co.uk)," he adds.
His story told, Roger stands and
unfurls from the sofa. He picks up
his bag and bids his farewell.
"It's good being home," he smiles.
"I have a few friends I need to go
visit before heading back over the
bridge," he says, and disappears out
into the summer sunshine.
Like the smudges of cream still
smeared inside his empty hot
chocolate mug, Roger's left a mark
on a place he is still proud to call
‘home’.
Roger's latest book, Cloud Cuckoo
Land is available in book shops or
anothersmallpress.net priced £12.99.
His other book 'Forty Poems For
Dylan Thomas’ is available from
www.candyjarbooks.co.uk
Roger's work has been heavily influenced by the Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas
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