LGBTQ+ Award-winning published poet returns to Northampton to perform poetry at Sixfields Stadium
A former resident of Northampton returned on Tuesday 24th March to perform poetry at Sixfields Stadium. LGBTQ+ award-winning and trophy-winning published poet Melissa M Poulton stopped off at Sixfields after visiting the Counties Crematorium to mark the anniversary of her sibling. She also performed a couple of pieces there too.
Melissa grew up in Spinney Hill and went to Thomas Becket Catholic School in the nighties and Northampton College in the early noughties. Since finding poetry as a way of expressing her feelings and exploring her surroundings, Melissa has found performing her words as life changing. “Standing in front of a room full of strangers and sharing sometimes emotional pieces of poetry is powerful” said Melissa. “When I left Wellingborough and Northamptonshire in 2017, I could never stand up to a room full of people and have the confidence to speak confidently and professionally. Poetry and spoken word has done that”.
Going to school in Northampton, Melissa has followed Northampton Town for the last thirty plus years. She remembered when Sixfields was just in the planning stages and the Cobblers were still playing at the County Ground. As she has followed the ups and downs of Northampton Town, she has written a few poems about the football club. Later this year, she will look at writing a longer collection about the club. Melissa said, “Being able to perform poetry at the stadium was a huge honour for me. I want to thank some of the Community team for recording me and taking pictures for me. Like my ability to perform over a period of time has improved, I hope the fortunes of the Men’s team does too. The Women’s team seems to be improving more quickly. Great results over the weekend.”
Melissa has many different poetry collections that can be found across her social media platforms or by contacting [email protected]