Mick Paynter

Michael Kenneth (Mick) Paynter (born 1948, St Ives, Cornwall) is a Cornish civil servant, trade union activist, and poet.

Apart from a period of study at the University of Newcastle, his home has always been in Saint Ives (Cornish Porthia).

He is a member of Gorseth Kernow, and was initiated as a bard under the Bardic name Skogynn Pryv (Worm's Fool) in 2003 on passing a Cornish language examination after four years of study, largely conducted during train journeys as a trade union representative. The name derives from the nickname of a smuggler's assistant in a local story involving outwitting a Customs man, and was chosen as appropriate as he worked for 32 years in the Inland Revenue. He was Deputy Grand Bard from September 2006, and was installed as Grand Bard in September 2009.

As well as contributions to anthologies, he has written three collections of poetry in Cornish with English translations, and is Cornish Language Editor of Poetry Cornwall / Bardhonyaeth Kernow.

His poetry combines the easy flow of colloquial Cornish with a variety of influences ranging from Afro-American song to Primo Levi and early Celtic literature. He is a frequent contributor to magazines such as Scryfa and Poetry Cornwall / Bardhonyeth Kernow.

Publications

References

  1. ^ "Cornish stories are pure gold", Western Morning News Plymouth, December 16, 2003
  2. ^ "Poet's delivery of Kernewek is music to the ears", Western Morning News, Plymouth, July 24, 2007

from: West Briton, September 9, 2010