John Row (poet)
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John Row (born 1947) is an English storyteller and public speaker.
Early life and education
[edit]Row was born in Barking, London, and grew up in Harlow.[1] He has a degree from the University of East Anglia in American studies.[1]
Career
[edit]John Row tours schools around the world and other institutions such as prisons.[2][3] He has been a presence in Texas where he has performed in detention centres for the young inmates. He was the first storyteller in residence in a British prison.[4]
He is the artistic director of the International Storytelling Festival that is celebrated every 2 years in Marrakech.[5] The festival set a Guinness World Record with 120 hours of continuous non-stop storytelling in 2025.[6][7]
He has performed at festivals in the UK, and has a weekly radio show on Ipswich Community Radio. He is a contributor to On Track, a magazine for rail travellers in the Southern Region. With singer/songwriter Paddy Stratton he is one half of 'Serious Times', a touring music and poetry show.
Performing in the 1960s, he joined up with Graham Flight from the Canterbury band 'Wild Flowers', which spawned both 'Soft Machine' and 'Caravan'. In the 1970s he toured with Nick Toczek in 'Stereo Graffiti' and in the 1980s and early 1990s with 'Sound Proposition' an anarchic combination of free form jazz, funk and poetry which toured East Germany in the last weeks of its existence.
His book of poems for children, The Pong Machine, was published in 1999.
Personal life
[edit]Row lives in Bristol and spends time in Colibita, Romania.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Grigoras, Alina (18 May 2018). "British storyteller John Row: Colibita is a hidden gem". The Romania Journal. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ Barnard, Ashley (25 April 2023). "Young writers inspired to write their own tales". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ "Jail date for popular storyteller". Ipswich Star. 2 November 2001. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ "Page Turner: How the toffs and the cons wrote a book". The Independent. 3 May 2009. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ Sahnouni, Mariya. "John Row on the Second Edition of the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival". Morocco World News. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ News, Aymen Alami-Morocco World. "Marrakech Festival Dazzles with 'Stories that Never End'". www.moroccoworldnews.com. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Guinness World Record (25 January 2025). Successful Guinness World Record Longest Running Storytelling Session Marrakesh International Storytelling Festival Press Release.
External links
[edit]- John Row, Storyteller
- John Row School Visits (archive dated 4 September 2011)
- World Storytelling Festival, 2023
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