Unfinished Works, Matt Gilbert

Posted on January 30, 2019 in UK

Every blank piece of paper is
A dream I’ve yet to dream
Each ink blot
Is a building block

UNTITLED, a poem by Matthew Gilbert

In 2013 the SYP received a message on Facebook from Hannah Gilbert, whose brother Matthew had been diagnosed with testicular cancer that autumn. He was 19 and sadly the cancer had spread to his lungs and brain and was untreatable. He’d made a bucket list of things that he would like to achieve and one of the items was to have his poetry published.

After speaking with Hannah and Matthew the SYP headed by then Chair Lottie Chase were delighted to announce that we would be publishing a short anthology of poetry from a range of male poets, including Matthew, to raise money and awareness of testicular cancer. Almost 43,000 men are diagnosed with a form of male-specific cancer each year in the UK and this anthology would raise money for Everyman, an appeal of The Institute of Cancer Research to raise money for research into prostate and testicular cancers. The publication would feature 10 poems from Matthew and 10 poems submitted to the SYP by male writers between 9 and 50 years old who had been touched by Matthew’s story. Published on 28 July 2013 at a recommended donation of £5, the anthology sold over 250 copies and raised over £2600, with all proceeds going to the Everyman charity. A copy of the anthology reached Matthew before he lost his fight with cancer enabling him to tick his fantastic achievement off his bucket list.

In 2016 Matthew’s family got in touch with the SYP to tell us that they had discovered more of Matthew’s poetry and we are absolutely delighted to be working with them once again to continue our support of Matthew and his family and to bring his words to print. The publication of “The Unfinished Works” showcases 31 of Matthew’s poems, the 10 originally published in 2013 and 21 new works unearthed since then. A limited print run of Matthew’s book will be published in January 2019 by the Society of Young Publishers at a recommended price of £10, with all proceeds going to the Teenage Cancer Trust. The book will be available to purchase online as well as receiving its own ISBN and a place in the archive of the British Library and other legal deposits libraries across the UK.

Zara Markland, previous SYP chair and project leader for this second publication stated that “This delightful assembly of completed and uncompleted poetry will be a fitting and everlasting celebration of a talented young poet whose passion inspired so many throughout his life and has continued to inspire almost half a decade later. Let us all pick up our pens and splash our pages of life with ink blots of all shapes, colours and sizes.”

“The Unfinished Works” is available to purchase here.