Rob Mason

Having been a DJ for 27 years Blackpool’s Rob Mason has long viewed ‘performing as a great thrill’, yet despite having ‘always had a knack with words’, he’d never considered himself a poet. However, since completing an English degree as a mature student, and having been drawn to the ‘cathartic’ nature of poetry as a means to ‘work out what’s going on in the world and inside [his] own head’, he’s duly ‘thrown myself in at the deep end’.

Humour is a big part of Mason’s work and he relates strongly to ‘the gritty northern wit of Toria Garbutt’ and the ‘absurd poetry’ of Tim Key, and cites Brian Bilston’s ‘playful style’ and ‘phenomenal wordplay’ as a notable influence. He also credits collaborator and fellow Blackpool poet Nathan Parker, with whom he ran Blackpool’s much-loved By The Meter night, as ‘putting [him] on this path’.

‘I find poetry incredibly cathartic. It’s an introspective process a lot of the time’

Of Blackpool Mason states that ‘I love the town and sing it from the roof tops’, so is thrilled ‘to be able to put Blackpool on the cultural map and share more art and culture with the people of the town’ through A Poet in Every Port. He is also looking forward to the opportunity to hone his craft and carve out a new collection of work.