What's this ghost malarkey all about then?

'The ghosts I never saw
and don't believe in
won't go away.

Should I be rural
and put out food for them?
- I'm not Homeric enough
to leave on the table
a bowl of blood.

And there's no need for that -
they drink mine.'

- Norman MacCaig, December 1975

Whenever I think about poetry, or the act of writing itself, I've always found myself coming back to the idea of ghosts: people and places we once knew, characters we've never met, stories we overhear and wish were ours. I'm fascinated by those ghosts and how a poem reinvents them, encounters them in unlikely places; the way you can slip into a bar in strange town and think you see an ex in the corner, nursing a whisky.

Growing up in Derbyshire, I was always aware of what a singularly ghostly place it is, how many stories are attached to the landscape. In particular, I was interested in the ghosts of the former industrial areas; miners and steelworkers who haven't given up. Ghosts have business to finish, and there's no place better for them than the pits and the old foundries of South Yorkshire. Sheffield is rife with ghosts, from the ancient sailors in 'The Ship' inn, to the Hillsborough spirit who pinches the black pool ball from all the pool tables in the pubs...

'A Pint For the Ghost' developed from a desire to re-tell some of these local legends, and introduce a few ghosts of my own. It's a series of haunted poems and stories I've been working on over the past six months for a one-hour poetry show, set in a shabby pub, after closing time, where spirits abound and anything might happen... As well as the show, which I want to put on in unusual locations around and about the country, the poems will be published as a pamphlet by the wonderful tall-lighthouse press later in 2009.

This all came about because of the Escalator regional talent scheme who are supporting me through the development of the show, and an Arts Council grant, as well as a lot of help from friends who have provided me with endless inspiration and pub wisdom throughout the research!

Who else has been roped in?

The show isn't just about the poems. I'm working with excellent director Patrick Morris, distinguished artist and theatre designer Issam Kourbaj and brilliant musician Sam Genders, of 'Tunng' fame. The finished act will be a mixture of spooky effects, haunting music, stories and poems. Oh, and there might even be the odd magic trick. I'm hoping to eventually put it on in former warehouses, old pubs and other unexpected locations, as well as in theatres.