Meet the trader: Lissie Bull Poetry  

Lissie started writing poetry to help with bereavement and has turned it into a vocation. You can find Lissie at our Community Cafe and Craft Market, Bethesda Redfield, on the second Saturday of each month.  

When my husband died 16 years ago, I hit rock bottom. I had four kids and I made sure they were okay, but I couldn’t look after myself. Lots of people suggested talking therapy, but I couldn’t speak. I’d lost the ability to communicate. Then a friend said, ‘why don’t you write it all down?’  

I was drawn to the simplicity of poetry. There are some basic structures, some basic rules, but really anything goes. It doesn’t have to rhyme, or even make sense. I started small and it wasn’t always easy, but it really helped. Poetry pulled me out of a deep depression.  

Friends and family really liked my poems, and I started giving them as gifts. Then I got some commissions. I started a Facebook page and then set up an online shop to share my poetry with others. Sometimes I can’t write, call it writer's block or anxiety, but when that happens I knit, so I started making teddy bears, key rings and small clothing items and I sell those too.  

The next chapter is to set up a group to support other people with bereavement. Poetry can be hugely cathartic and I wanted to share my skills and help others. People connect with me because I’m speaking from personal experience. They know I know, and I won’t judge. If reading my poems or learning to write poetry can support someone back to good mental health, that makes me happy.  

Visit Lissie’s shop here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/lissiepoems 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lissiespoems