Poet pens collection about Derbyshire's uncanny customs in new book

Matthew Hedley Stoppard, who grew-up in Clay Cross, began Morris dancing with his local group five years ago and has gone on to take part in other unique customs.

The result is The Garland King, which is out now, and is a collection of verses that combines his experiences of folk activity and his own anxieties around parenthood and the wider world.

Matthew, 35, said: "If you’ve ever wondered why Morris Dancers look so happy, it’s because you're witnessing a person who is shedding every distraction in their life and only focusing on movements of music and movements of their body that have been carried through centuries.

“This is what I felt the first time I danced five years ago. Since then I have explored other customs around the country and met people who feel the same way. Folk traditions have featured in poetry before, but I don’t feel previous poets have immersed themselves in them, like a method actor.

“When you take part in a folk tradition you directly are connected with the people who first started them hundreds of years ago. I feel they bear some cultural significance and share similarities with customs in other countries, but have now been overshadowed by elitist notions of Brexit and Empire."

This book is Matthew’s second collection attempts to create an uncanny space where traditional customs and modern anxieties mix. Here, we find the Garland King cannot shake the inherent sexism of our society; a mummer mismanages his depression after his child is diagnosed with cancer; and Morris Dancers melt in the midst of a climate emergency.

Matthew now lives in Otley, West Yorkshire, where he is the town’s official Town Poet, the only role of its kind in the UK.

His book features Derbyshire’s famous traditions such as mumming, Well Dressing, Castleton’s Garland King, as well as customs from around the UK, such as Scotland’s Burryman and May Day celebrations in Cornwall.

Matthew’s second collection attempts to create an uncanny space where these traditional customs and modern anxieties mix. Here, we find the Garland King cannot shake the inherent sexism of our society; a mummer mismanages his depression after his child is diagnosed with cancer; and Morris Dancers melt in the midst of a climate emergency.The poems celebrate the rituals of the working and labouring classes, who have had their culture eclipsed by organised religion and politics. The poet explores them by donning bells and decorated bonnets himself, in order to connect with Britain’s heritage and with other countries that have similar customs.

Matthew’s first collection, A Family Behind Glass, was a Guardian Readers’ Book of the Year in 2013, and he has written a book of poetry exploring Leeds’ cinematic history with fellow poet James Nash.

The Garland King is out now and available online from Valley Press at valleypressuk.com