Niall Spooner-Harvey
Niall Spooner-Harvey is an English performance poet and stand up comic who was critically lauded for his debut collection of poetry "Only Not Walking". He also plays keyboards in the band Paul Hawkins (musician) and Thee Awquard Silences.
Early life
Spooner-Harvey was born in York in 1982 and grew up in Spennymoor, County Durham. At age two he was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. While still at school he made a youthful appearance on Channel 4 quiz show Countdown and is still one of the highest scoring losers the old format of the show ever had.
Spooner-Harvey studied Classics at Girton College, Cambridge from 2000-2003. At this time his first published poetry appeared in the May Anthologies 12, guest edited by Philip Pullman. Pullman singled out Spooner-Harveys poem "Grave" in his preface saying "good stuff... mischievous." Around this time Spooner-Harvey also became known on the Cambridge music scene for his poetry residency at the popular Songs in the Dark night. When the night moved to London he moved too to continue his residency alongside musicians Jeremy Warmsley and The Woe Betides.
In 2004 Spooner-Harvey became a regular face on the London poetry scene, cementing his status as one of the best performing poets by winning the prestigious Farrago Poetry Slam competition.
He was also a former teacher of Rooks Heath High School.
Writings
In 2006 Smokestack Books released Spooner-Harveys debut collection "Only Not Walking." His debut dealt largely with the difficulties of living with an invisible disability and was critically well received.
In popular culture
In March 2008 Spooner-Harvey has a minor internet hit with his poem "All my Conservatories have Won Awards" which initially appeared on Jeremy Warmsleys "This is our TV show" but was then placed on the front page of myspace where it received 10,000 hits in the first two weeks.
Works
Poetry
- 2006 â Only Not Walking