A collection of faith-based poems and reflections on life
‘Dancing to Your Tune’ is Sheila Hopkins’ second published collection of poetry. As a poet who is a Christian, many of her poems have been inspired by the Bible, her reflections on life, and her faith journey. This volume is in four sections. ‘Words from the Word’ offers a fresh perspective on familiar Bible stories, as the poet sometimes steps inside the characters in the stories to see through their eyes. In ‘Life and Faith’, the poems provide a guided tour of Sheila’s inner musings, exploring how life and faith impact one another. Reflecting on loved ones passing, in ‘A Matter of Life and Death’, the poet draws on her own experience and the experiences of others known to her. The final section, ‘Still Life’ considers how essential moments of stillness are in our otherwise busy and frantic lives.
A delightful and engaging collection of poems for inspiration and reflection.
Sheila Hopkins currently lives in Somerset with her husband, David. They have three grown up children, Emma (Hop), Joel and Thomas (Tom).
Whilst growing up in the north London suburbs, Sheila was taken out into the countryside regularly by her parents and learned to love nature. Her mother was an avid reader which inspired Sheila to enjoy reading herself.
Whilst studying for a degree in English Literature at Southampton University, Sheila became a Christian. After her degree, she went on to train as a teacher. Whilst working in her first job as an English teacher in Lincolnshire, she began to write poetry.
Returning home to London, Sheila met up with David, a friend she had known in Southampton and their friendship developed. In 1988, they married and moved into a flat in London where two of their children were born. From London, the family moved to Portishead where they lived for fifteen years.
After Emma went to university, Sheila was appointed as Parish Family Worker for Milford on Sea and the family moved to Hampshire. During her time there, she was inspired to write further poems, many of which appear in ‘Dancing to Your Tune.’
During the seven years in Hampshire, Joel left home to train as a teacher, and Tom completed his secondary education. David was by this time working in Yeovil and, with Tom heading to university, Sheila left Hampshire to join David. Since moving, and having had opportunity to travel, she has added more poems to her collection, many of which appeared in her first book, ‘Life on Location’. Having enjoyed the experience of publishing a book, and being aware that her poetic gift is God-given, Sheila went on to fulfil a promise to publish her faith poems and hopes that readers will be inspired by them to explore the Bible further for themselves.
The poet describes herself as widely unknown and her life as unremarkable. However, those who know her will agree that she has an enthusiasm for life, which she pursues with a delightful sense of humour.