Tony was presented with an honorary Doctorate, a D.Litt, Doctor of Letters, by his alma mater, Salford University in July 2018. In 2015 he was named as one of the North West’s 50 Greatest Original Thinkers in a poll which included the likes of John Lennon and Emmeline Pankhurst and was eventually won by Alan Turing.
Manchester University’s Alliance Manchester Business School commissioned this original poem in 2015 and Tony is a regular guest speaker there. Leading creative sessions with 15O international MBA students, speaking to a Chinese governmental delegation, performing at Doctoral graduation events and leading Presenting With Confidence courses to undergraduates.
Tony has been a regular guest lecturer at Manchester University’s School of Mechanical, Aeronautical and Civil Engineering and has performed and/or taught at UCLAN, at Salford University to both comedy and drama students, The Manchester College (degree students), Matthew Welton’s poetry students at Nottingham University and led outreach sessions for MMU. His work is studied, with permission, in the Open University syllabus and has been studied, cited and quoted in many undergraduate, masters and doctoral papers and has been performed by Performing Arts students for their degree show.
As at A level, Tony’s poems have been enjoyed as the inspiration for projects on all sorts of creative courses and modules, producing some great work – art, graphic design, typography, photography, videography etc.
As a freelance professional writer and performer for over 10 years, working in all sorts of sectors and with all manner of other creative practitioners, a talk with Q&A about real life industry experience is often very popular too.
For details of rates and dates and to discuss booking a University school visit please click here.
Extract from “Take This Pen”
Welcome! We’re expecting you!
We’ve saved a place for you. It’s true
that you are us and we are you and
poetry is for you.
You’re different. But we’re the same!
Strange family, all with different names
But we’re all lit from a single flame.
And poetry is for you.
So here’s a gift to you from me
The pen a poet gave to me
Take it. It will set you free.
And poetry is for you.