Wigan poet who writes in local dialect publishes his first book

A Wigan poet who writes in his local tongue about life in his hometown has just published his first book.

By Holly Pritchard

Published 29th Oct 2022, 12:30 BST- 2 min read

James Walton, 31, who lives in central Wigan, decided to try his hand at writing poetry during lockdown in 2020, after being inspired by the life and people in his hometown.

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He has now published his first poetry book called, Beltin’, which is written phonetically in a Wigan accent, and all about what it means to be a Wiganer.

James said: “It’s been published by a new publisher called Bent Key, and it’s a book of poems about being a Northern working class lad from Wigan, and I write the way that I talk.

"I’m a screenwriter but during lockdown I couldn’t really go out or make any films so I started writing poetry.

"I’ve done poems about the cuisine of Wigan; having a chippy tea, I also talk a lot about pubs, football, rugby and things from my childhood.

“Inspiration wise, I enjoy the work of John Cooper Clarke – he’s the obvious choice. I also like Charles Bukowski and Toria Garbutt. I’m a big fan of them and many more too.

Wigan poet James Walton, who got into writing poetry through lockdown, with his first book, Beltin'

“It all started in year nine in high school, I started getting really into drama, and went on to attend Wigan and Leigh College where I studied media production, and that’s where I started to write more of my own stuff.

"I went on to university at the Northern Film School, in Leeds, and found my passion for writing.

"If I can inspire others to get passionate about writing and poetry then I’ll be really happy with that.”

You can find James’s book Beltin’ online, through the publishers and at Waterstones.

John Cooper Clarke Leeds