Pol Hodge, who has been prominent on the Cornish culture scene for over 30 years, was elected President of the John Harris Society at the AGM on 16th March 2024.
DALLETH
Pol Hodge was born in Redruth 1965 in sight of Carn Brea. He grew up in Troon (where John Harris lived briefly), and went to school there, then attending Redruth School, South Bank Polytechnic reading Chemical Engineering and a PGCE in Science, from Bath University. Hodge has been a Science Teacher at Looe, Youth Worker in Clay Country, Teaching Assistant at Penrice, Verbal Arts Officer in Truro, Lab Technician in St Austell and Education Officer for the Cornish Language Office before becoming Sodhek Kernewek for Golden Tree – who gave the world The Man Engine and put Kernewek into 50 Cornish schools.
He started learning Kernewek in London in the 1980s and passed Kesva 4th grade becoming a Bard of Gorsedh Kernow in 1991, taking the bardic name Mab Stenek Veur ‘son of a great tin-ground’. Hodge served as Kledhyer/Sword-barer for 20 years before being elected Kannas Bardh Meur/Deputy Grand Bard and Bardh Meur 2021 to 2024. Hodge has performed poetry in Kernewek, Dialect and occasionally English with long-term reading partner Bert Biscoe, (Vyajor gans Geryow ‘voyager with words’) at over 450 gigs.
He now lives with his wife, Jane Ninnis, the bard Kesklywores. at Lambriggan, in the county of Pydarshire.
DIWEDH
