mark gwynne jones

MGJ@RonnieScott's,Soho1 — Mark @ Ronnie Scott’s, Soho

Inspired…one of the most accomplished performance poets in the land…drawing the audience into a world where things are not quite what they seem. The Guardian

I always stipulate that whoever is on with me hasn’t got to be any good. This one got past me… I don’t know how, but heads will roll! John Cooper Clarke

Astonishing… You’ll love this show! The Daily Mail

On this website you can find Mark’s publications, performances caught on film, audio recordings, and dates. Here too, is the all new PsychicBread – a cabaret of poetry, song, and psychedelic folk. Our new single Dream Of The Purple Baby is out now. Watch the video here.

In other news…

Mark’s ‘audio odyssey’ Voices From The Peak – is out NOW on Talking Elephant Records, a double CD featuring Volumes 1-3.

Combining archive recordings, voices from today, music and humour, Voices From The Peak features the atmospheres, wildlife, and unheard stories of the UK’s first National Park, The Peak District. The series was recently reviewed in The Times and featured on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row with Samira Ahmed, who interviewed Mark on the work’s creation. Voices From The Peak audio was also used in the dazzling projections on Cromford Mills and Chatsworth House, and the series has now been recognised by the International Year Of Sound – a global initiative to highlight the importance of sound in all aspects of life.

On May 26th 2021, BBC One ‘Breakfast’ interviewed Mark on the newly named Seven Wonders of the UK. Click here to see feature.

2021 was the 90th anniversary of Derbyshire Life magazine. To celebrate, the magazine commissioned Mark to write a prose-poem for the county. The new work, which follows the river the length of the county from its source on Bleaklow to Derwent Mouth at Shardlow – appeared in July/August’s special anniversary edition.

On the subject of all things Peak District, we also recommend Kate Chappell’s Hope Valley Journal. With stunning images and articles, every issue is a work of art, reflecting the sometimes wild beauty of this region. Issue One features an interview with Mark, and Issue Three his prose-poem, Snow.

When resident poet for London’s Regent’s Park, Mark explored what is meant by ‘common ground’ in 21^st century Britain. For one of the park poems recorded live at Ronnie Scott’s, see: Whose Common Now?

And before leaving this home page, we’d like to feature a poem Mark wrote 25 years ago, Plasticman. A poem that once had him thrown out of a Supermarket… (as filmed by Andy Lawrence)