Martin O'Neill Biography

Engineer, thinker, observer.
I get taken by surprise sometimes by a thought, a phrase or something someone says and my mind goes for a walk. Sometimes an object triggers a veritable gold rush of words that scatter and run around my head as I try to catch them. This is when I curse not having pen and paper at all times. It can also can be a problem when driving!
I love seeing and hearing new ways of expressing ideas. I love modern dance and sculpture by the likes of Rodin and Fellini. I have also enjoyed pottery and art to a limited degree - there are only so many hours in a day!

I don't try to develop an identifiable style or a modus operandi, I write what I feel at the time whether it is a polemic or a whimsy. I feel better for that than trying to fit myself into a strait-jacket of some genre or style of writing. I love the diversity of poets such as Roger McGough. I have found others here on this site.
I love reading other people's poems. We all have different ways of seeing and sometimes we all write a little gem. I love finding those. It's like finding a five pound note in an old suit pocket.
I also adore intelligent debate, just the sheer sparkiness of it, whether or not I agree with one side or the other or am a non-partisan observer, I find it thrilling sometimes to watch sharp minds spar. Like boxing but with intellect and no brain damage. I am currently enjoying the philosophical meanderings of A.C. Grayling and the blood and thunder of Rugby Union.