Elizabeth Bracken

I was brought up on a Suffolk Farm in the 1950’s and 60’s.  Following a degree in English at Lancaster and library studies at Aberystwyth, I was a librarian in Slough and in Norfolk and Suffolk, working with children and teachers and in a prison.

Inspired by winning the Crabbe Poetry Competition back in 2002, I have been an active member of Suffolk Poetry Society ever since, for some years as Membership Secretary and currently as Crabbe Competition Secretary.   I have published poetry booklets Unhurried Voices (2012), Appreciating the Place (2017) and There for the Poetry (2025).

Joining Waveney Poets and going on to run the group for many years introduced me to a wealth of modern poetry.  Leiston Writers, Lowestoft Seagull Theatre’s New Words Fresh Voices and Halesworth’s Swan Poets have provided opportunities to learn more about writing and performing work.

I love to see poetry out in the world earning its keep in libraries, schools and nurseries, hospitals and care homes.  Shared poetry experiences I have found rewarding include celebrating the anniversaries of Magna Carta and the discovery of the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial.

HALES GREEN

For the walk we choose
the windiest spot in South Norfolk,
gusts blowing up the Yare valley.
March 12th - no livestock turned out yet 
but white geese pad about
in flooded grass, in rushy places.

Your small sparkling boots
begin to take on water. 
Soaked socks, cold toes - but no tears
and not a cobweb left in us.
We hold and hold, brace ourselves
for the next storm.



Copyright © 2025 Elizabeth Bracken  
Published in There for the Poetry, 2025