Darlington Media Group

The Darlington Media Group was based at Darlington Arts Centre and provided a community print and

photographic resource. Coordinated by Paul Dillion, the centre had typography, layout and design and photographic resources and ran workshops in photography and darkroom and layout and design.

Early in 1983, Trev Teasdel had attended a photography and darkroom workshop at the centre and later brought along fellow student and poet John Quinn (aka Joe Flamingo). Trev was producing his first chapbook of poetry The Escaped Poet (Poetic Licence 1984) and did typesetting and layouts there of his own book and two by John Quinn of the Multi Media Society.

Trev was also a co-editor of Voice and the North at the time and took Kevin Daws across where, with the

help of Paul Dillion, the redesigned Voice of the North and turned it into an A3 format. Trev and John Quinn interviewed the Liverpool poets Brian Patten and Roger McGough there for Voice of the North.

The Darlington Media Group was important for connections too.Trev was introduced to the work of Geordie poet and Community Arts Worker Keith Armstrong with whom he would soon work with on the Write Together Project a year later and to Pete Roberts who was on the Media Group committee but who was soon to start Community Arts Middlesbrough with Paul Hyde. Trevor got involved with Community Arts Middlesbrough in 1984 sitting on their voluntary management committee and assisting Pete Roberts with the development of Teesside Writers Workshop. In fact Community Arts Middlesbrough was the base from which Trevor develop into a Creative Writing tutor in Cleveland for WEA (Workers Educational Association) and produced Outlet magazine.


Trev also ran a Fanzine workshop at the Darlington Media Group with a group of young people who wanted

to produce Capitalist Punishment. This included work by Poet Tony Stowers who would later perform at the New Poetry Scene in Stockton and John Mingay who became the Darlington Writer in Residence based at Darlington Central Library in the early 80's. Trev also had a story published in the magazine - A Doleful Tale.