I was born in Hereford, raised in the picturesque town of Monmouth, South Wales. These beautiful surroundings are a wonderful source of inspiration...

I started writing poetry in Primary School, but it wasn't until I was 12, when an English teacher at Monmouth Comprehensive School encouraged me to write more, did I take it seriously (or not, depending on which poems you read!).

The first poem I had published, called Eagles' Wings, was in the fan-club magazine of The Alarm, in 1987!

In 2004, after a 14 year hiatus, I picked up the pen again. Since 2005 I have had numerous poems published on the internet and in anthologies.

Mel Penman