James Pendle, the Poet of Paddington Station

James Pendle has memorised over ninety poems (his own and those of other poets). Every Friday morning, with the approval of Network Rail, he chats to customers at Paddington station and then recites a poem that he thinks will suit them.

As part of the environmental protests organised by Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, James has performed on Waterloo Bridge, outside the Houses of Parliament and outside the Royal Courts of Justice.

James has discussed his poems on BBC London Radio (Alice Dale show; Shay Kaur Grewal show) and is a regular feature at literary festivals. His poems have been published in Ambit (edited by Carol Ann Duffy) and Acumen (one of the longest-running literary magazines). He first came to Greenbelt, as a festival-goer, in 1984.