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About Anneliese
 I grew up in York in the north of England, then read Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge University.
I have written poems (mostly fun; some serious) for children and adults for as long as I can remember. My poems have won prizes and been used in projects up and down the country for over 15 years.
Since 2007 I have been performing my poems myself nationwide, in live shows for adults and for children. I have performed in festivals, including the Ledbury Poetry Festival and the Ilkley Literature Festival, and in venues ranging from Oxford Playhouse to the UK’s largest planetarium. Since 2008 my agent has been UK Touring.
I have been commissioned by the BBC to write poems for, e.g., the appointment of the new poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy (read these poems), and also for the Radio 2 Arts Show to mark World Poetry Day 2010 (listen to the poem). I’ve also been broadcast on Radio 4’s Today programme. Many of these poems appear on my ‘2009 in Rhyme’ CD, performed in front of a live audience in December 2009. Listen to a clip
My first CD of poems, was Buzzing!, which became a National Insect Week recommended resource.
I appear regularly on BBC Radio York, reviewing the papers and performing my poetry. Listen to a clip.
I write song lyrics, too, and was a semi-finalist in the 2010 UK Songwriting Contest. I also collaborate with musicians, including acclaimed composer and performer John Rayson, and the early music vocal group The Clerks, who commissioned me to write contemporary lyrics to two Renaissance songs for their ‘Clerks Songbook’.
When not collaborating with other musicians, I write eco-musicals, on subjects such as composting and global warming.
Digital photography opened up a whole new dimension in my work, and so my Buzzing! show is a multi-media event, including projected close-up images of mine. I won a prize in the first photography competition I entered (in 2007), and as a result was invited to become a Volunteer Photographer for the Woodland Trust. My photographs have also been published in the media and in the scientific literature, as well as in my Buzzing! CD booklet, cards and calendar.
Before I turned to performing professionally, my working life always revolved around the sound and meaning of words. I worked as a phonetician for the Oxford English Dictionary, as a translator (e.g. for the High Court in London and for a former French President), and as an editor of academic and educational books. I have also taught a total of four languages in five different countries to people from 5 to 65 years old.
Now here’s a little known fact about me and children’s poetry: my parents taught the current children’s laureate, Michael Rosen, when he was at school. And Michael Rosen’s father taught my mum when she was at school! Find out more from Michael Rosen himself here.
Oh, did I mention – English is my second language. My first language was … well, I’ll tell you that another day.
I set up and run theBigBuzz, and in 2008 I won:
In 2009 I won:
Find out:
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