PoemCatching relies on you. Your participation and willingness to take a moment and share a poetical thought. If you fancy leaving a comment on your experience or the project, please do. It will help me to grow the idea if you leave glowing references, and it will help me mould the rough edges if you offer supportive feedback.
please remember – I accept every poem, because it is unique and creative. It is a focus of this project to be non-competitive and to be supportive of ALL CREATIVITY – with as little judgement as possible. I’m hoping your feedback can be similar.
I thrive in a s supportive environment, and shrink in the face of criticism. Perhaps you are the same.
Please consider your choice to be supportive or critical, and offer what you prefer to receive.
P.C.
Poem Catcher 
“The engagement he was able to make with both participants and general public was truely remarkable, and this lead to some stunning contributions from all ages, genders and classes. People who wouldn’t, or couldn’t, have seen themselves as having an ounce of creativity were discovering new aspects of themselves – and enjoying it!”
John Shaw
Director. Fringe by the Sea 2010
Dear Andrew,
This short note is a testimonial to the excitement that you brought to the International Mycological Congress in Edinburgh this month. Scientists are not often thought to be the most poetic of our species, but your role as “PoemCatcher” definitely tapped into a latent interest. Believe it or not, I am now getting poems in emails from colleagues who were at the congress in Edinburgh.
I hope that many other pockets of our society get the opportunity to benefit from your socializing efforts.
All the best,
John Taylor
Professor
University of California
Berkeley, CA USA
I first met the poemcatcher when he offered to donate 50 of his book of poems QUAKE to SOS Children in support of our work in Haiti after the Earthquake in January 2010.
We were deeply impressed by his vision to inspire creativity, and his compassion in seeing the needs of those affected by this disaster.
Since then Andrew has continued to raise money for SOS Children by donating a portion of the income from his books. This has helped to raise awareness for our work with orphaned and abandoned children.
But most importantly Andrew has used his talent to unlock the poet in people who could never have imagined being able to write a poem.
We are very grateful for his generosity and wish him every success in all his ventures as the Poemcatcher.
Mary Pountain
Community Fundraising Coordinator, SOS Children
It was a delight to meet you at Fringe By The Sea in North Berwick. I have never considered writing a poem before, but after meeting you, I sat in bed at 11pm that night and wrote a poem. I felt completely inspired, and so proud of myself. So thank you very much introducing me to something which I would never have otherwise thought possible.
I now look forward to your publication, ‘Salty’.
With Best Wishes,
Carol Wicker
North Berwick Day Centre
I am so full of admiration for the way you captured people to donate their poems, especially those that thought they couldn’t write. This a great testament to your personality’ What you have is: ‘A wonderful collection of poetry which mirrors the inner thoughts of a vast cross section of society’.
Provost Stephanie Young
of East Ayshire Council
Dear PoemCatcher,
Great book! Not only fungi , but also poems about fungi are highly diverse!
Thanks for collecting these poems and creating the book!
Minou
Minou Nowrousian, Ph.D.
Department of General and Molecular Botany
Ruhr-University, Germany
What Andrew does is magical. He has an uncanny ability to conjure and inspire even the most unlikely poet to create amazing poetry. My teenage kids think that the PoemCatcher is a ‘Legend’.”
Thomas Munro, Father & Husband, Midlothian, Scotland.
PoemCatcher Wedding Book
Also wanted to let you know that I got a big kick from writing my poem! I know – it’s crazy – but it’s something I’d never normally do – especially not so immediately or spontaneously! The poem was terrible – but the experience was fab 😉
Maree
Dear GEDICHTEFÄNGER! 🙂
I would like to thank you again for this surprising moment of creativity at the Frankfurt Bookfair. I have never thought of writing a poem before, so it was a completely new sensation to me (and supposedly also to my twin sister – we wrote the poem together, if you remember).
I hope you have enjoyed the atmosphere in Germany – maybe you might change your opinion and try to learn some German words, too. You wanted me to write a poem after I had shouted loudly “Oh, schau mal den da an, das ist ein Gedichtefänger!”, after all.