Mick Paynter | |
|---|---|
 Paynter as Skogynn Pryv | |
| Born | Michael Kenneth Paynter 1948 Redruth, Cornwall |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Genre | Cornish Language |
Michael Kenneth Paynter (born 8 December 1948, Cornwall, United Kingdom) is a retired Cornish civil servant, trade union activist, and poet. Apart from a period of study at the University of Newcastle, he has lived in St Ives (Porth la).
He is a member of Gorsedh Kernow, and was initiated as a bard under the bardic name Skogynn Pryv (Worm's Fool) in 2003 after passing a Cornish language examination after four years of study, largely conducted during train journeys as a trade union representative.[citation needed] The name is derived from the nickname of a smuggler's assistant in a local story who outwitted a Customs man, and was chosen for him as he worked for 32 years in the Inland Revenue. He assumed the position of Deputy Grand Bard in September 2006 and was promoted to Grand Bard in September 2009 until he handed the title over to Maureen Fuller (Steren Mor) at the end of the Camelford Gorsedd on 1 September 2012. He was a member of the Cornish Language Board (Kesva an Taves Kernewek) from 2006 to 2015, the Chairman Bewnans Kernow from 2009 to 2012, and the Treasurer Bewnans Kernow from 2012 to 2016. He was the 2003 winner of the Poetry Cornwall/Bardhonyeth Kernow poetry competition and was thereafter invited to edit contributions in languages other than English and their translation in PC/BK. In addition to his contributions to anthologies, he wrote three collections of poetry in Cornish with English translations, and is the Cornish Language Editor of Poetry Cornwall / Bardhonyaeth Kernow. His poetry combines the easy flow of colloquial Cornish with a variety of influences ranging from Afro-American song to Primo Levi and early Celtic literature.[citation needed] He is a frequent contributor to magazines such as Scryfa and Poetry Cornwall / Bardhonyeth Kernow. His collection "A Worm's Folly" was nominated in the 2012 Holyer An Gof literary awards. He was elected President of the St Ives Old Cornwall Society at its 2014 AGM and continued until 2017 where he was succeeded by Margaret Stevens.
