Chris M L Burleigh – Poet

About

‘Life is serious, but is not to be lived too seriously’. Serious or humorous, my poems are always good-natured. 

I write when I have something to say, and I feel I have found the right way to say it.

I have been writing poetry all my adult life as my response to scenes, situations, people and emotions. My interest is in people, love, the natural world, and the human condition.

For me, poetry is about having fun with words and meaning, using words interestingly to say things differently, and saying the familiar in unfamiliar ways.

I have published three books of poetry – Particles of Light was originally self-published in 2017. I created a 2nd edition in 2025. Intersecting Lines was traditionally published by Beercott Books in 2021. A third collection, Reflections, was also published by Beercott Books, in 2025.

I write poems to move, to surprise, and to make you laugh. I do not judge, or tell the reader how to think or to respond.

The more serious poems are liberally interspersed with light-hearted, even playful, poems. In each collection, there is a final section of wry thoughts, wit, and wordplay.

I have also been published in anthologies by Fish Publishing and Indigo Dreams.

I hope readers will enjoy reading my poems, and will feel I am putting their own experiences and emotions into words. It’s such a great feeling when you get good feedback and review comments, or when somebody chooses to take home a copy of your words from a bookshop or my stand. That’s communication!

I read regularly at poetry ‘open mics’ and at local literary events, and I give talks about my poetry to community groups. 

I’m @chrismlburleigh on Facebook, Bluesky, and X (preferably not).

News

1st November – Saturday Signing, Kenilworth Books

23rd November – Oxford Indie Book Fair

11th December – SoA event, Hitchin Library

My Collections