Words Happening
The Wrong Enemy
It is so often the case, in relationships and friendships passing through periods of change or upheaval, that I find myself wanting to say—usually after the moment has passed: "I'm not your enemy, and you are not mine. The battle you're fighting won't end if I am...
From Adversity to University: A Different Route into Higher Education
Mike Jenkins These, days many of us are aware that higher education doesn't always guarantee highly paid jobs. I have been lucky enough to study at A-Level, Further Education College, at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama (one of London's most prestigious and...
Recovery, wellbeing and the people who help us along the way
Recovery, wellbeing and the people who help us along the way Mike Jenkins Over the coming months, I will be sharing articles and reflections on my website about recovery and wellbeing. These are subjects I approach through lived experience. I have been in recovery...
Sun Over England from Mexico 2026
Sun Over England from Mexico 2026Mike Jenkins 16th July, 2026 4am the sun came upall over England as if inaftermath of a miscaluated warmen, women and childrenstumbled bleary eyed through the daythinking perhaps:is this what is was all for? This lighta certain kind of...
Belfast by Mike Jenkins
Audio Recording You Are Better Than My PenA powerful new voice in contemporary verse. From the streets of a Belfast childhood to wandering in Downtown New York, from meditations on life in rural, cathedral-town Sussex to the deep, flowing rivers of desire, this first...
The Alchemy of Giving
Lately, there have been times when I have felt I did not have the strength, resilience, or resources to face the challenges ahead of me. Moments when I wondered how much longer I could keep going. In the last seven days, two friends, unconnected and very dear to me,...
Stopping for Stoppard
23:17 Stopping for Stoppard Saturday 4th April 2026 Listening to Tom Stoppard (1937-2025) on R4, the programme is Archive on 4, Tom Stoppard: Verbatim.This weekend there is and has been a celebration of his life and work. I've listened to some of the programmes and...
Mothering Heights
Audio Recording You Are Better Than My PenA powerful new voice in contemporary verse. From the streets of a Belfast childhood to wandering in Downtown New York, from meditations on life in rural, cathedral-town Sussex to the deep, flowing rivers of desire, this first...
There’s a Place for Stonepillow
In Dec 2023 Stonepillow asked me to write a poem for their Winter Appeal to raise awareness and funding for their local hubs. At the Big Sleep out event in September 2024, I read the poem at Chichester Cathedral. I wanted to write a poem that conveyed the positive...
Ships (in Leonard’s Yard)
Ships (in Leonard's Yard) by Mike Jenkins 19th August, 2024 I wrote this mostly as a stream of consciousness and quite quickly heard the melody of Leonard Cohen's song 'Suzanne' as the rhythm of the poem took hold, so I let it lead. I added the subtitle, 'in Leonards...
Memory Was Like Water
Memory Was Like Water by Mike Jenkins Memory was like water, quick sometimes, evaporating and reappearing, dripping unheard and unseen or gushing up from the cracks of an overheated moment. Kept for years sometimes, in the same container in the same location alongside...
The Baffling Case of the Bognor Bureau
The Baffling Case of the Bognor Bureau Originally written for The Bognor Regis Heritage Partnership as part of their Tales with a Twist short story competition and was first performed by TV and stage actress, Jean Rogers. The monologue won joint 3rd prize. Mr R...
Writing Credits
Plays
Mike’s plays have all been written specifically for performance and are currently unpublished. Please make any enquiries about scripts for production via the Contact Page.
The Well of Lost Voices (2023)
A Picture of Alchemy (2008)
The Box (2005)