Portfolio

I create safe spaces for ordinary people to tell extraordinary stories.

Whether writing, facilitating or performing, my work is all about sharing honest stories, asking important questions and imagining hopeful futures.

Read my poems and process notes on Substack:

What we’ve been up to recently…

@davidhoarelol will be headlining @swindonwordsmiths on Saturday 19th September, fresh (or knackered!) from his run at @edfringe David Hoare is a one-liner-musical-comedian; mixing silly, staccato songs with idiotic mischievousness! Winner of the A
We’re so excited to have @jakewildhall headlining the Swindon Poetry Café at @caffe_vialottie on Friday 11th September. We took a little break in August but we’re back with a bang! Jake is an award-winning poet and one half of @b
@rebeccarockerwrites avoided learning poems to write a Substack post about learning poems… this one’s for any fellow process nerds. Read the full article here (link in bio): 🔗 https://torncurtainjournal.substack.com/p/how-do-you-remem

Follow @torncurtainco

Poetry with Young People

Home - a Prime Youth Theatre and Create Studios Project

In 2025, over a series of workshops, I worked with 11-14 year olds to explore what ‘home’ and ‘belonging’ means to them. We co-wrote and recorded a poem to capture the sights, sounds, smells and feelings of home.

Colorful abstract Swindon Paint Fest mural on a blue wall featuring geometric shapes, circles, triangles, and rectangles with various patterns and colours, against an urban city background.

Streetlights - a Revolution Performing Arts and Swindon Paint Fest Project

Working with RPA and Swindon Paint Fest, I co-wrote a poem with 5-11 year olds responding to this street mural by local artist, Paul Exton. The young people performed their poem, plus a movement piece inspired by the mural, at the Wyvern Theatre in July 2024.

  • Our painting

    is bright and exciting

    like musical notes

    like a line of sheet music

    it makes me think of childhood.

    When I think about childhood,

    I feel sticky lollypops

    I smell freshly baked muffins

    I taste juicy strawberries on lovely vanilla cupcakes

    I hear children running down the street

    I hear two-year-olds crying over a grazed knee

    I see massive teddies

    I taste raspberries, strawberries, and cherries

    I hear children complaining about broccoli.

    Our painting looks

    like a city of shapes

    like a city in the future.

    When I think about the future,

    I see stars in space

    I taste the McDonalds I’m going to have for tea.

    When I grow up

    I want to be a ballerina

    I picture myself on a football pitch

    I see myself as a paramedic

    I imagine aliens in the sky

    I see robots and technology

    I see flying saucers in the air.

    For me, the future is uncertain

    I see shapes but I’m not sure what they mean

    sometimes the shapes look upside down

    but I can shape the future of my town

    I can shape the future of my town.

WHAT I OFFER

Swindon Wordsmiths

I produce Swindon Wordsmiths, a quarterly poetry and comedy night created by local people, for local people. Hosted by Abbie Hope at The Well Church, the event platforms high-quality stand-up comedy and spoken word poetry, attracting audiences of 60-80 people.

Five people stand on stage at Swindon Wordsmiths poetry and comedy night, each holding a microphone, in front of an audience. The group appears to be engaged in a performance, with colorful lighting and a festive atmosphere.
Audience sitting in theater clapping during a Swindon Wordsmiths poetry and comedy night performance.

Follow @swindonwordsmiths

Swindon Poetry Café

I produce and host the Swindon Poetry Café, a monthly open-mic for poets and songwriters at the cosy, family-run Caffe Vialottie in north Swindon. Twelve open-mic spots and one brilliant headliner offers local people an opportunity to connect over coffee and creativity.

A microphone on a stand in focus, set up for a performance at the Swindon Poetry Café inside a dimly lit Caffe Vialottie with tables and chairs. The background features framed artwork on a dark green wall and warm lighting.
The exterior of a coffee shop called Caffé Vialottie with a sign logo above the entrance, large glass windows, and some small potted topiary plants outside. The sun is shining brightly, creating lens flare in the image.
Person with glasses and dark hair in a bun, wearing a beige sweater, sitting at a table with blurred objects and candles, raising their hand with a ring on the finger.
Swindon Poetry Café host, Rebecca Rocker, is speaking into a microphone at Caffe Vialottie, with an audience seated around tables listening attentively. The room has large windows, plants, and chandeliers.
A poet reading from a piece of paper at a microphone during a Swindon Poetry Café event.
A woman performing live music in a dimly lit Caffe Vialottie, playing an acoustic guitar and singing into a microphone, with audience members visible in the foreground.

Pop-Up Poetry

I find creative ways to engage the public with poetry, through hands-on, pop-up poetry activities. I was commissioned by the Swindon Culture Collective to work with visitors of all ages at Swindon Winter Fest 2025. I also designed and delivered STEM-themed pop-up poetry activities for families visiting the Festival of Tomorrow in February 2026.

Colorful flyer for Swindon Winter Fest with illustrated winter scene including trees, lanterns, and animals. Handwriting on paper and a black marker are also visible on the table.
smiling and standing next to a promotional banner that reads 'torr curtain' and 'Open up and let the light back in.' She is wearing a black shirt with the same logo. The table in front of her has books, pamphlets, and decorative items including a glass sphere and a wooden sign with a QR code. The background shows part of a large screen or wall with the word 'PASS' visible and a table with more items.
A bulletin board with several sheets of paper featuring black and white text and graphics, and a white illuminated decorative tree with colorful paper leaves hanging from its branches.
A table with books and a chalkboard sign that reads 'Prompt: What the trees whisper in Winter.' In the background, decorative illuminated trees and chairs are visible.
Rebecca Rocker in jeans and a black top holding up colorful paper chain poems at Swindon's Festival of Tomorrow.
A black chalkboard sign with colorful handwritten text listing four sensoryexperiences: see, hear, touch, and smell, along with related numbers and phrases, placed on a small easel on a tabletop. In the background, there are various items and flyers, and a blurred-out setting.
A woman is kneeling on the floor, helping a young girl tie a colorful paper chain hanging on a wall. Several other paper chains in various colors are also hanging on the wall. Several people are standing nearby, including a girl with blonde hair and a woman in a gray jacket.
A table with a corkboard surface displaying a word web activity. The word web includes connected words such as 'treat', 'cease', 'pedestal', 'stool', and 'demands'. There are cards with handwritten words, and colored rubber bands connecting the cards in a web-like pattern. A person wearing a black jacket and Hello Kitty backpack is working on the activity with a pen in hand.

Creative Journaling Workshops

I work with Shine PND (Post-Natal Depression) support group, a safe space for mothers affected by PND to take part in creative workshops. In my one-off ‘Intro to Creative Journaling’ workshops, I use poetry as a reflective tool to spark conversation and model vulnerability.

In June 2026, I partnered with local doula, Rosanna Kent (Odyssey of Motherhood), to launch Maternal Journal Swindon. Supported by Central Swindon North Parish Council, hosted at TWIGS Community Garden, this 6-week course helps mums and mums-to-be support their mental health as they navigate the complexities of motherhood.

  • One day the muslin cloths will lie motionless in the bottom drawer, no longer flung over sicky shoulders or pushed frantically into lifesaving bags.

    One day the bedside crib that once invaded your space will be sold on Facebook Marketplace, destined for another sleepless mother.

    One day, you will stop using words like ‘trimester’, ‘colic’ and ‘latch’.

    One day the white noise soundtrack will go silent and contact naps will end. Blurry baby-led hours will stretch into school days; flexible spaces filled with conversation and choice.

    One day the bamboo bowls with silicone suckers will be stuffed in cupboards behind big kid plates. Fussy eaters will shovel food in, not around, their mouths. Catchy bibs will rest after too many long shifts. Water wipes will go dry inside their packets.

    One day the final few nappies will remain unsoiled, forgotten by bums that now sit on ceramic thrones.

    One day, the buggy will wheel its last child to the park and you wont even notice.

    One day, the car will just be a car, not a pressure cooker, 5-point trap, co-parent, nap machine, podcast palace or driveway retreat.

    One day, restless nights, cracked nipples and constant crying will feel like loss and not resentment. The early days might even look like good old days if you colour them with nostalgia and squint at them long enough through rose tinted eyes, sparkling with pride.

    One day, the things that mattered then won’t matter anymore. And they will somehow matter more.

WORK WITH ME
  • A person sitting at a desk coloring a colorful poster titled 'Breathe' with markers. The desk has art supplies, including scissors, paper, and decorative stickers featuring a horse, daisies, butterflies, and other nature-themed images.
  • Pink scrapbook page with cut-out words and phrases about learning, including the phrase "fires burning you can slow down and reconnect" and a title "The Weight of the World" with letter tiles spelling "JOURNAL."
  • A table with various snacks, drinks, and reading materials, including a book titled 'Sewn' by Maria Ferguson, a magazine, cookies, crackers, fruit, juice boxes, glasses, papers, and colorful brochures.
  • Decorated scrapbook page with 'MUM' in pink letters, guitar stickers, a budget plan notepad, Scrabble tiles spelling 'JOURNAL,' a collage photo of a street scene, and pink floral and lattice-patterned papers.
  • An art project including a colorful collage of cutouts, a small rabbit sticker, and Scrabble tiles spelling 'FREE' on a lined paper background.
  • Table with baskets of colorful markers and scissors in front of a wall hanging that says 'Helping People & Plants to Grow,' decorated with yellow flowers and green leaves, inside a rustic room.
  • A cluttered desk with papers, a basket of craft supplies, a purple and orange water bottle, and colorful notes about life and faith.
  • People at a table with art supplies, coloring books, papers, markers, and cups of tea or coffee, working on creative projects and drawing colorful sketches.
  • Rebecca Rocker and Rosanna Kent smiling and standing inside a rustic room with wooden beams and a stone wall, in front of a colorful banner that reads 'Helping People & Plants to Grow'.
  • A handwritten letter on a white sheet of paper, surrounded by decorative washi tapes, a red pen, and small paper cutouts with images and words, placed on a light-colored desk surface.

Performance Poetry

"Wow. Never had words hit so hard but resonate so much."

—

"I can't thank you enough for giving voice in such a powerful way to this experience that I have shared long ago."

—

"You are liberating people with words, turning pain into purpose."

—

"Wow. Never had words hit so hard but resonate so much." — "I can't thank you enough for giving voice in such a powerful way to this experience that I have shared long ago." — "You are liberating people with words, turning pain into purpose." —

Poetry in Print

An excerpt from my poem Wellies was published in an article for Country Life Magazine article by Deborah Nicholls-Lee.

Copyright: Country Life Magazine, September 10th 2025, www.countrylife.co.uk

SEE MY SERVICES
Close-up of a person wearing a dark green waterproof jacket splashing muddy water on a grassy surface, with splashes of mud and water frozen mid-air.
A dog splashing in water with green background, water droplets in the air, alongside a red and blue plush toy wearing a red hat and coat.
A small puppy with brown and white fur sitting between tall rubber boots on a leaf-strewn ground outdoors.
A collage of two photographs: on the left, Dame Shirley Bassey walking with officials at the Dundee North British Rover Company in Edinburgh; on the right, women working in a field at Glastonbury, preparing land for planting.