I have been a member of Poetry I. D. for about seven years. I am also the Poetry Society's Stanza rep. for North Herts.

Poetry I. D. is far and away the best and most creative writing group that I know of. It taps the creative energy in all its members and our regular writing workshops kindle ideas for poems that I never knew were there.

My early work was largely influenced by the writing of Ted Hughes, but I have more recently become influenced by other contemporary poets, ranging from the lyrical to more experimental and risk-taking verse, with poets such as J. H. Prynne and Keston Sutherland among those that sometimes affect my writing. Consequently, my work has become more eclectic as a result of this.

I have been published in various poetry magazines, including Envoi, Never Bury Poetry, Poetry Monthly, Awen, The Black Mountain Review and The Frogmore Papers. I have also broadcast on BBC TV Look East.

My recent collection, This is not a Sonnet (ISBN 978-1-874595-25-0), is published by Survivors' Press and contains 38 of my earlier poems. It may be purchased from Survivors' Press, Studio 11, Bickerton Street, London N19 5JT, and it should soon be available on Amazon.

My debut novel, The Cylinder has recently been published by YouWriteOn.com/Legend Press, and is available via Amazon, or through leading book stores (ISBN 978-1-84923-930-1). A marginal science fiction tale, it tells the story of what happens when a mysterious cylindrical object is unearthed during an archaeological dig and the psychological effect it has on those who come too close to it. It is more to do with inner, rather than outer space. It is available on Amazon.co.uk and on Amazon.com. It may also be found on www.abebooks.co.uk
and www.abebooks.com.

I also have my own website on Wetpaint.com. This may be seen on: http://richardcopeland.wetpaint.com/