DEANNA RODGER
Deanna is a writer, performer, and facilitator.
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LEYLA JOSEPHINE
Leyla is a poet, theatre practitioner and filmmaker.
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ANDY MASLEN
Andy writes poems, short stories and novels, principally thrillers and crime.
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RISHI DASTIDAR
Rishi is a poet and published author.
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ABOUT THE POETS
Andy Maslen writes poems, short stories and novels, principally thrillers and crime. He finds his inspiration in the frailties of human nature and the complex interplay between emotion, reason and behaviour.
After graduating from the University of Durham with a degree in psychology, Andy worked in business for 30 years as a copywriter before turning to fiction full-time.His poems have won honourable mentions twice in the Norwich Open, one of the UK’s most prestigious regional poetry competitions, and his novel Hit And Done was shortlisted for the 2018 Kindle Storyteller Award.
Find out how law firm Addleshaw Goddard delivers imagination and impact to over 3,000 clients every year.
Deanna Rodger is a leading poet in the UK. Most recently, her reimagined version of ‘If’ was read by Serena Williams. She has been welcomed to perform and facilitate workshops all across the world incl.; Mexico, Sudan, and Beirut, and has been commissioned by institutions such as; Adidas, FIFA, St Paul’s Cathedral, Young Vic, and BBC. She is a former UK Slam Poetry champion and represented the UK for poetry at the International Biennale, Rome 2011. She designs and delivers educational programs, and tutors at the School of Communication Arts and is a founding member of Keats House Poetry Forum and Chill Pill. I Did It Too, a collection of performance poetry celebrating a decade of work, came out in 2017 (Burning Eye Books). Theatre commissions include Now We Are Here (Young Vic Dir. Ian Rickson), and Sing Before You Speak Again (Young Vic).
VIEW DEANNA’S POEMS
LAW HAS GONE MISSING
SEE HOW MANY DIFFERENT WORDS THERE ARE FOR...
POSSIBILITIES
Leyla Josephine is a poet, theatre practitioner and filmmaker, originally from Glasgow,
now residing in Prestwick. She won the Hammer and Tongue UK National Slam which catapulted her into the world of Spoken Word.
Her solo theatre shows Hopeless and Daddy Drag have toured throughout the UK. Hopeless was runner up for Saboteur’s Best Spoken Word Show 2018. Daddy Drag received the Autopsy Award 2019 which celebrates Scottish artists making ground-breaking work in Scotland.
Her poem ‘Good With Our Hands’ was included in the Scottish Poetry Library’s Best
Poems of 2020.
She has performed for the First Minister of Scotland and has been on the same bill
as the likes of Kate Tempest, Lowkey and John Cooper Clarke.
She was named in The List’s Top 100 Artists To Watch in 2019.
Rishi Dastidar’s poetry has been published by Financial Times, New Scientist and the BBC amongst many others. His second collection, Saffron Jack, was published by Nine Arches Press in March 2020. A member of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen, he is also chair of the London writer development organisation Spread The Word. Rishi judged the meme poetry challenge on Young Poets Network in 2018.
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WEIGHING UP YOUR OPTIONS
By Leyla Josephine
LAW HAS
GONE MISSING
By Deanna Rodger
TOOLS OF
THE TRADE
By Andy Maslen
DEANNA RODGER
VIEW Leyla’S POEMs
WEIGHING UP YOUR OPTIONS
LAWYERS
THE NIGHT BEFORE
THE TOP OF COMPLETION HILL
VIEW Andy’S POEMs
TOOLs OF THE TRADE
TRUST THE LAW
Andy Maslen
Rishi DastIdar
Law firm Addleshaw Goddard delivers imagination and impact to over 3,000 clients every year.
Find out how
POETRY AND THE LAW
An invisible foundation of the economy, the law enables, facilitates and protects business. Rhyme & Reason is a celebration of the law and the people within businesses who practise it.
To provide a fresh perspective, law firm Addleshaw Goddard turned to poets, because lawyers and poets use the same tools… words. These two professions use words to convey meaning; inspire change; and help us understand and navigate our world.
In this short body of work, we celebrate the role, skill and creativity of both business lawyers and poets. With thanks to our clients and other members of the legal community for their time and contribution.
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Leyla Josephine
ENTER NOW
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THE JACK
OF ALL LAWS
By Rishi Dastidar
A TURNAROUND
AGAIN TAKES FLIGHT
By Rishi Dastidar
THE JACK
OF ALL LAWS
By Rishi Dastidar
TRUST THE LAW
By Andy Maslen
DEANNA RODGER
Deanna is a writer, performer, and facilitator.
LEYLA JOSEPHINE
Leyla is a poet, theatre practitioner and filmmaker.
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ANDY MASLEN
Andy writes poems, short stories and novels, principally thrillers and crime.
RISHI DASTIDAR
Rishi is a poet and published author.
ABOUT THE POETS
Deanna Rodger is a leading poet in the UK. Most recently, her reimagined version of ‘If’ was read by Serena Williams. She has been welcomed to perform and facilitate workshops all across the world incl.; Mexico, Sudan, and Beirut, and has been commissioned by institutions such as; Adidas, FIFA, St Paul’s Cathedral, Young Vic, and BBC. She is a former UK Slam Poetry champion and represented the UK for poetry at the International Biennale, Rome 2011. She designs and delivers educational programs, and tutors at the School of Communication Arts and is a founding member of Keats House Poetry Forum and Chill Pill. I Did It Too, a collection of performance poetry celebrating a decade of work, came out in 2017 (Burning Eye Books). Theatre commissions include Now We Are Here (Young Vic Dir. Ian Rickson), and Sing Before You Speak Again (Young Vic).
VIEW DEANNA’S POEMS
LAW HAS GONE MISSING
SEE HOW MANY DIFFERENT WORDS THERE ARE FOR...
POSSIBILITIES
DEANNA RODGER
Leyla Josephine is a poet, theatre practitioner and filmmaker, originally from Glasgow,
now residing in Prestwick. She won the Hammer and Tongue UK National Slam which catapulted her into the world of Spoken Word.
Her solo theatre shows Hopeless and Daddy Drag have toured throughout the UK. Hopeless was runner up for Saboteur’s Best Spoken Word Show 2018. Daddy Drag received the Autopsy Award 2019 which celebrates Scottish artists making ground-breaking work in Scotland.
Her poem ‘Good With Our Hands’ was included in the Scottish Poetry Library’s Best
Poems of 2020.
She has performed for the First Minister of Scotland and has been on the same bill
as the likes of Kate Tempest, Lowkey and John Cooper Clarke.
She was named in The List’s Top 100 Artists To Watch in 2019.
VIEW Leyla’S POEMS
WEIGHING UP YOUR OPTIONS
LAWYERS
THE NIGHT BEFORE
THE TOP OF COMPLETION HILL
Leyla Josephine
VIEW Andy’S POEMs
TOOLs OF THE TRADE
TRUST THE LAW
Andy Maslen
Andy Maslen writes poems, short stories and novels, principally thrillers and crime. He finds his inspiration in the frailties of human nature and the complex interplay between emotion, reason and behaviour.
After graduating from the University of Durham with a degree in psychology, Andy worked in business for 30 years as a copywriter before turning to fiction full-time.His poems have won honourable mentions twice in the Norwich Open, one of the UK’s most prestigious regional poetry competitions, and his novel Hit And Done was shortlisted for the 2018 Kindle Storyteller Award.
Rishi Dastidar’s poetry has been published by Financial Times, New Scientist and the BBC amongst many others. His second collection, Saffron Jack, was published by Nine Arches Press in March 2020. A member of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen, he is also chair of the London writer development organisation Spread The Word. Rishi judged the meme poetry challenge on Young Poets Network in 2018.
VIEW Rishi’S POEMS
THE JACK OF ALL LAWS
A TURNAROUND AGAIN TAKES FLIGHT
THE INVISIBLE HAND'S HIDDEN HELPER
Rishi DastIdar
Brian is a career marketing professional, not a poet. But having worked in the legal industry for over a decade, he wanted to pay respect to the legal profession and was inspired to contribute some words to this collection.
He has previously written poems about business marketing, plus one for emotional support charity, The Samaritans.
VIEW Brian’S POEM
THE BOARDROOM WHODUNNIT
THE LAW OF GRAVITY
Brian MacreadiE
A TURNAROUND
AGAIN TAKES FLIGHT
By Rishi Dastidar
TRUST THE LAW
By Andy Maslen
Find out how law firm Addleshaw Goddard delivers imagination and impact to over 3,000 clients every year.
SANTA CLAUS IS COMING AROUND*
By Brian Bilston
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BRIAN BILSTON
Brian is a poet, author and described as Twitter’s unofficial Poet Laureate.
Brian Bilston has been described as Twitter’s unofficial Poet Laureate. With nearly 200,000 followers on social media, including J.K. Rowling, Roger McGough and Frank Cottrell Boyce, Brian has become truly beloved by the online community. He has published two collections of poetry, You Took the Last Bus Home (Unbound, 2016) and Alexa, what is there to know about love? (Picador, 2021), and his novel Diary of a Somebody (Picador, 2019) was shortlisted for the Costa first novel award. He has also published a collection of football poetry, 50 Ways to Score a Goal (Macmillan, 2021), and his acclaimed poem Refugees (Palazzo, 2019) has been made into an illustrated book for children.
BRIAN BILSTON
VIEW BRIAN’S POEM
Santa Claus is coming around
IMAGINATION & IMPACT
BRIAN BILSTON
Brian is a poet, author and described as Twitter’s unofficial Poet Laureate.
READ MORE
Brian Bilston has been described as Twitter’s unofficial Poet Laureate. With nearly 200,000 followers on social media, including J.K. Rowling, Roger McGough and Frank Cottrell Boyce, Brian has become truly beloved by the online community. He has published two collections of poetry, You Took the Last Bus Home (Unbound, 2016) and Alexa, what is there to know about love? (Picador, 2021), and his novel Diary of a Somebody (Picador, 2019) was shortlisted for the Costa first novel award. He has also published a collection of football poetry, 50 Ways to Score a Goal (Macmillan, 2021), and his acclaimed poem Refugees (Palazzo, 2019) has been made into an illustrated book for children.
VIEW BRIAN’S POEM
SANTA CLAUS
IMAGINATION & IMPACT
BRIAN BILSTON
Find out how law firm Addleshaw Goddard delivers imagination and impact to over 3,000 clients every year.
LAWYERS
By Leyla Josephine
LAWYERS
By Leyla Josephine
SEE HOW MANY DIFFERENT WORDS THERE ARE FOR...
By Deanna Rodger
SEE HOW MANY DIFFERENT WORDS THERE ARE FOR...
By Andy Maslen
THE NIGHT
BEFORE
By Leya Josephine
THE TOP OF COMPLETION HILL
By Leyla Josephine
THE INVISIBLE HAND’S
HIDDEN HELPER
By Rishi Dastidar
THE INVISIBLE HAND’S
HIDDEN HELPER
By Rishi Dastidar
THE NIGHT
BEFORE
By Leyla Josephine
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MATT ABBOTT
Matt is a poet, educator, and activist from Wakefield.
Matt Abbott is a poet, educator, and activist from Wakefield. His debut spoken word show ‘Two Little Ducks’ earned 5* reviews at Edinburgh Fringe 2017 and on a UK theatre tour in 2018. The show’s poems were published as his debut collection by Verve in 2018.
Matt’s debut kids’ poetry collection ‘A Hurricane in my Head’ was published by Bloomsbury in 2019. It was a National Poetry Day selected title and led to an appearance on Blue Peter and a cameo in the Beano. Matt fronts indie band Skint & Demoralised and formed spoken word record label Nymphs & Thugs in 2015.
Notable commissions include Nationwide Building Society TV ads, Leeds United FC’s centenary kit launch, Cancer Research UK, Kellogg’s UK, the European Youth Forum, and Jeremy Corbyn’s official 2019 general election campaign.
MATT ABBOTT
VIEW MATT'S POEM
LOST IN TRANSLATION
MATT ABBOTT
Matt is a poet, educator, and activist from Wakefield.
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Matt Abbott is a poet, educator, and activist from Wakefield. His debut spoken word show ‘Two Little Ducks’ earned 5* reviews at Edinburgh Fringe 2017 and on a UK theatre tour in 2018. The show’s poems were published as his debut collection by Verve in 2018.
Matt’s debut kids’ poetry collection ‘A Hurricane in my Head’ was published by Bloomsbury in 2019. It was a National Poetry Day selected title and led to an appearance on Blue Peter and a cameo in the Beano. Matt fronts indie band Skint & Demoralised and formed spoken word record label Nymphs & Thugs in 2015.
Notable commissions include Nationwide Building Society TV ads, Leeds United FC’s centenary kit launch, Cancer Research UK, Kellogg’s UK, the European Youth Forum, and Jeremy Corbyn’s official 2019 general election campaign.
VIEW MATT’S POEM
LOST IN TRANSLATION
MATT ABBOTT
IMAGINATION
& IMPACT
By Brian Bilston
By Matt Abbott
LOST IN TRANSLATION
POSSIBILITIES
By Deanna Rodger
LOST IN TRANSLATION
By Rishi Dastidar
IMAGINATION & IMPACT
By Brian Bilston