Holocaust Centre North, based at the University of Huddersfield, has previewed the publication of its first-ever poetry collection.

'Poetry After Auschwitz: Walking in West Cornwall with the Ghost of Great-Aunt Hilde,' by writer, historian, and educator Ben Barkow CBE, offers a "deeply personal and intimate reflection on the Holocaust," drawing on Mr Barkow's own family experiences.

Mr Barkow, who is former director of the Wiener Holocaust Library, has published several books concerning the Holocaust but this will be his first collection of poetry on the subject.

Mr Barkow said: "In November 2021, after living here for around nine months, I woke one night with words and phrases running through my mind.

"I got up, wrote for an hour, and knew immediately that I had found my way forward.

"What I had written was poetry.

"Over the next two and a half years, I composed around 30 to 35 poems, resulting in this collection.

"The form uniquely suited the exploration of my family’s fragmented history.

"Cornwall—with its rapidly changing weather, its constant proximity to the sea, and its landscapes shaped by human toil and suffering—became the ideal place to walk, think, and write."

The collection will be published on December 4 by Holocaust Centre North, and is available to pre-order from https://holocaustcentrenorth.org.uk/shop/