Published on 4th November 2015

So who's this then?
This is Philippa Crundwell, a 17-year-old Collyer's student who has recently seen her book, Seventy Beats,
published by King's England Press.

Presumably it's about The Last Poets' eponymous 1970 album that combined previously unheard funk and beats, laying the foundations for hip hop?
Erm, no, Seventy Beats actually finds the young Horsham writer adopting various voices and personae to tell stories via the medium of poetry.

Poetry; didn't that ship sail in about 1835?
Contemporary poets still break into the mainstream occasionally. You may have seen John Cooper Clarke on comedy panel shows, listened to Simon Armitage on Radio 4 or Murray Lachlan Young on Radio 6 Music. Perhaps you even saw another popular performance poet, Benjamin Zephaniah, give his take on the West Midlands derby on BBC Sport. But admittedly, this probably isn't poetry's golden age!

So what has inspired Philippa to take it up?
Poets still have plenty of creative outlets and Philippa, whilst a pupil at Millais School, entered a 2013 poetry competition hosted by Peace One Day, which organises events on 21 September, an annual day of peace and unity. Philippa's poem was written as a retrospective account from the perspective of somebody trying to make peace with someone that they have fallen out with in the past. Her poem won the competition.

Who selected the winning entry?
A panel of experts including Francesca Simon, author of the Horrid Henry books, chose five poems for a shortlist. Facebook then took a brief break from publishing photos of cute kids in superhero costumes to host a public vote to decide the winner.

And having won, Philippa had a book published?
Not at all, there was much work to be done. Philippa said: "One of my neighbours liked my poem and sent it to a publisher who they know at King's England Press. They came back to me and said 'If you can write 60 poems to that same standard, then we'll publish an anthology of your work.' Philippa wrote 69 more, thus the name 'Seventy Beats'.

So what does she write about?
Philippa often writes from the perspective of somebody or something else, including a granny and two Afghan refugees, whilst often tackling difficult topics like the Hillsborough football disaster (The Match of '89). She said: "I am limited to what I can write about from personal experience as I'm only 17, so I try to get inside the head of different people. I am inspired by the news or articles I've read, and try and put myself in their shoes. Once I have an idea, I find that walking is very conducive to creating poetry."

Does she have a favourite?
She does. It's called 'When Society Takes Away Everything.' It is, apparently, based on one person's thoughts from within a North Korean concentration camp. Philippa said: "It doesn't reveal much about that person individually as I wanted it to be something that many people could relate to. I thought that, emotionally, I got it about right."

Is Philippa like the contemporary poets who seem to be borderline rappers?
Mercifully not. Philippa is quite traditional in terms of rhythm and beat structure and most of her work even rhymes! She said: "I'm very meticulous about structure and strive to find the right word every time. I have read some of the more traditional poets such as Christina Rossetti and many have a special rhyming structure that poets nowadays tend to dismiss. So whilst I write about modern issues, I write in traditional form. I did experiment with some beat poetry, which is a little off the wall for me, but that work is not featured in the book."

So is she any good?
Philippa, who is currently studying English, Spanish and Classics at A' level, has created an impressive
collection of poetry for somebody so young. We were expecting the standard "savaged by beauty" nonsense but the work has a clear, defined meaning in simple yet emotional verse. There's the beautiful 'Elephant Song' that
questions the mind of a poacher (As you stalk them and watch them all mighty and wild / Do you see them as money, not father and child? / Do You aim for his brains when you shoot through his hide? / Does your small heart not ache for the calf at his side?) Another of our favourites is 'Blessed with Forgiveness'in which a loved one of a murdered man has a defining moment whilst digging a grave. Such mature writing has earned Philippa praise from acclaimed writers...

Dickens? Hemingway? Dostoyevsky?
No, as they're all dead. But I salute your Wikipedia research. Philippa said: "My book has been well received by Peter James, Michael Morpurgo and Ali Sparkes. I have entered the Wicked Young Writers Award and was shortlisted a couple of times. Michael Morpurgo was one of the judges, so I had a link with him, and he was kind enough to give me a nice review of the book. I'm very grateful for that as it is difficult for young writers to make their mark."

How else has Philippa been promoting the book?
Well, she launched 'Seventy Beats' at Waterstones in Horsham, during which she read out several of her poems - an experience she found more enjoyable than anticipated. Philippa said: "Because I know the poems so well, it was easy for me to convey them in the right way." She'll be reading poems at Mint House Shop in Hurstpierpoint on Saturday 12 December at 11am. If you need more to entice you, we're informed there will be coffee and mince pies...

So what's next for Philippa?
She plans to publish a novel, but is tight-lipped about the project. She said: "I think that my writing is always evolving so my work, be it poetry or novels, will depend on my experiences at the current time. Ultimately, I would like to write but I don't know yet what path my career will take."

So can you publish one of her poems?
I can't. Editor says there's not enough space and we'd have to leave an advert out...

You can't do a three page piece without one!
You're quite right. Here's 'Peace One Day'

When fragile words are spoken,
Then promises not kept,
Then someone may get broken,
And tears are often wept,
This is the massive void within,
The tender spot inside,
Where evil, hurtfulness and sin,
Have vandalised my pride,
So I set out to hurt you,
And cut you like a knife,
And after all you've been through,
I caused the deepest strife,
The gorge between us grew and grew,
So did those precious years,
Though neither of us ever knew,
We'd cried each other's tears,
I should have said I'm sorry,
So many years before,
Before we'd dug a quarry,
Between our bedroom doors,
I should have gently held your hand,
So many moons ago,
And tried to let you understand,
What I hope your heart might know,
I want to find a way to see,
Your side of the coin,
So I'll set my hate and anger free,
So that our hearts may join,
So can we cross the no-man's-land,
To iron out every crease,
So I can hold your tender hand,
And we can live in peace.

Philippa will be at Mint House Shop in Hurstpierpoint on 12 December. You can listen to her excellent reading of Lime Green Moon on Youtube (see the QR link here) or for more on Seventy Beats visit www.kingsengland.com