The title, Ourselves Reflected Back, comes from Warda Yassin’s crowd-sourced poem Canal Works, commissioned by The Poetry Society and inspired by the local waterways, and community stories. The phrase is both a nod to the town’s industrial waterways, and to the way poetry, like water, can hold up a mirror to who we are. 

Spread The Word, part of FLUX Rotherham’s main programme, began in Wath Upon Dearne and now runs across the borough with regular creative sessions at Mowbray Gardens, Swinton, and Riverside libraries, plus open mic events at Grimm & Co’s Emporium of Stories and Wath Tap Pub. 

Local award-winning poet and editor Vicky Morris said “It’s been a complete pleasure editing and bringing this anthology together for Spread the Word Rotherham. So many diverse and wonderful voices. ‘Ourselves Reflected Back’ is truly a slice of Rotherham and South Yorkshire, full of heart and grit. Poetry lover or not, there’s something for everyone in this collection.” 

You will be able to pick up a copy of the anthology in local libraries in Rotherham!