An Actionnaires life in rhymes

Inspirational Actionnaire 13 year old Liam Midwood had a book of poems published last Christmas inspired by his experience of living with blindness.

Liam was diagnosed with an eye disorder at seven months; he lost his sight entirely in 2005 and is now registered blind. His blindness has not prevented him from being an avid reader though and he learnt Braille within 12 months.

He was absolutely thrilled at having his poems published, however, since over 95% of books are not produced in an accessible format he was adamant he wanted his poems available in print, large print, Braille and audio at the same price and the same time.

In June 2006 he met with Doncaster author Gervais Phinn who inspired and encouraged him to start writing poetry. He was becoming slightly disillusioned at his mainstream school and he saw writing as an outlet. He has now written over 50 poems exploring all areas of his life. He even managed to get a quote from the famous children’s author Jacqueline Wilson who said 'Liam’s poems are heartfelt and sincere. He's a sensitive boy who loves words. His poems make you smile, make you think, make you sad. He is blind but he makes his readers see.'

Liam now attends New College Worcester School for young people who are blind or partially sighted, his favourite subject is not surprisingly English and his ambition is to be a writer.

His family are especially pleased with him being published, amazed how he has taken not only his visual impairment but the writing and publication of his poems in his stride.

Liam first attended his local Actionnaires club in Huddersfield two years ago and although he is now attending a boarding school he still returns home every couple of weeks and still insists on going to Actionnaires, in fact he says he wouldn’t miss it!

Actionnaires – A Poem by Liam Midwood

Christmas poem competition