These Days

John Lynch was born and grew up in Ipswich. After graduating from the University of Kent with a degree in History and Philosophy, he lived in London for seven years, working first as a playleader and later – having completed his City and Guilds at Hackney College – as a carpenter. On moving back to Ipswich in 1987, he embarked on a career in primary education and was a headteacher at two Suffolk schools. 

As a teacher, he particularly specialised in children’s poetry writing. He ran a highly successful Writers’ Club: so many children winning prizes in national and regional poetry competitions that this was the subject of one of the BBC’s Bookworm programmes. 

As well as poems for children published in various anthologies, he has written articles and reviews for a number of educational publications including Books for Keeps, Changing English, Primary English and The Montessori Courier. 

Earlier poems of his first appeared in Other Poetry, Seam, Smiths Knoll, Staple and a pamphlet, A Gap in the Railings (Garlic Press, 2016). These Days is his first full collection.