A GWENT-born poet returned to his roots to read from his first published poetry book.

Geoff Jones, who was born in Beaufort and grew up in Nantyglo, is author of Poetry Mine, a collection of poems mostly based on his childhood memories.

He now lives in Staffordshire but his fondness for the area he grew up in led to Mr Jones returning to his roots to read some of his work.

Mr Jones, 69, did readings at Ebbw Vale library and Brynmawr library this week.

Mr Jones, who grew up studying at Nantyglo Grammar School and Monmouthshire Training College, had a career in teaching at English universities in subjects including poetry and creative writing before retiring.

He has also written a childhood memoir “The Next Valley Over” as well as novel “The Darkness Falls”, a fictionalised account of the Chartist Rising in 1839 one of the three ill-fated Monmouthshire marches to Newport.

His latest work, Poetry Mine, which was published in August is his first poetry work to be published and features a number of poems inspired by things like Nantyglo's Ffoesmaen Road graveyard, Hafod-y-Ddol and the Welsh mam.

He said: “It is superb to see my name in print. The poems are simply based on my experiences and observations in life.

“I enjoy returning to my roots and regularly visit the area. Visiting and revisiting the people and places generates ideas for numerous poems and unexpected surprises."

From the poem ‘Dying Language’:

"..slaughtered by epitaphs
deeply engraved in English
but next to the name burials lay Ffoesmaen Road

surviving the cull
tracking a way
to the Ffoesmaen Inn"