A Tribute to Tony Challis

I saw Tony last at the European Poetry Festival event at Nottingham Contemporary a few weeks ago. Afterwards we chatted outside and he was as friendly, as humble and as curious as ever. He was expressing his disappointment that Nottingham Poetry Society, which he’d been running, might finally be coming to an end…. It was great to see him. And no surprise to see him. In fact, whenever he wasn’t at a literary event in Nottingham, I always looked around to check the rows of seats to see if I’d missed him!

I first met him at a Pink Ink workshop over 25 years ago. He then joined Nottingham Stanza, which I started in 2008, the purpose of which was to get to know a brand new poetry collection every month. Every month he was there without fail and his fair and incisive comments, and wry humour, were always valued.

I feel sad he won’t be there at the next events I go to. I know I’ll be looking round, checking the rows to see if I’ve missed him.

The literary community in Nottingham is as vibrant as ever. But, as always, it doesn’t always know itself – people, understandably, tend to be loyal to their own groups / interests / age-groups and have little idea what else is going on (or what came before). Tony helped pioneer LGBTQ+ literary events in the city, helping to make them what they are today: part of the mainstream calendar. His enthusiasm for all kinds of poetry and his unfailing support for a huge variety of Nottingham literary events (no matter what the weather!) is a lesson to us all. His loyalty to the Nottingham literary scene was deep and steadfast and ecumenical.

Bless you Tony. I’m glad to have known you. Thank you for your gentle, affable presence and unfailing support. I’ll still be checking the rows to see if you’re there.

Rich Goodson

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Tony Challis 1946-2026