i am ill with hope
poems and sketches by Gommie
In 2019 poet-artist Gommie began walking the coastline of an England with nothing but a backpack, a tent and an unusually large collection of pens. His aim? Searching for hope during increasingly hard times.
From losing his way on the Dover Hills to bankruptcy in Rhyl and wild camping in Scarborough, Gommie’s extraordinary journey is still ongoing, and his findings, a deeply moving mixture of texture, illustration, poetry and verbatim conversations, are a gentle homage to the often-overlooked places we inhabit and the frequently forgotten voices we hear. Follow him @gommie_poem on Instagram.
Gommie is a Poetartist. He incorporates the written word, performance, painting, illustration and travel into his work. Gommie trained and worked as an actor before moving into the visual arts in 2016, as a response to Brexit. He quickly made a name for himself, winning “The Soho House Mentorship award” and producing solo shows with Messums gallery and Daniel Raphael gallery. This is his first published collection of poems and sketches.
