Wigan Poet ‘The Chubby Northerner’ Spreads Positivity with ‘Pavement Poetry’ Project
We all know there’s enough doom and gloom in the world, so one man, Tom Stocks, from Wigan, has been spreading positivity and inspiration across the town and further afield with his unique initiative: Pavement Poetry.
Tom, a poet, known by his creative moniker ‘The Chubby Northerner’ started his daily project over 50 days ago, and each day, come rain or shine, takes to the streets to share verses of hope, humour, and healing. He uses chalk pens to write short poems directly onto pavements in towns and cities across the region, and his words — often focused on themes of mental health, positivity, and everyday joy — have sparked a wave of goodwill, with passers by pausing to read, reflect, and share the messages online.
“I wanted to spread joy and positivity. We all have our good days and bad days, so I just hope if they are seen by someone on a bad day it just makes that day a little bit brighter. Also, I feel poetry gets a bit of a bad rep amongst the everyday person for being too artsy fartsy and they won’t understand it, I say this because I was literally exactly the same.
“It’s all about finding the right voice and what speaks to you. Last year I did positive poetry scrolls where I left notes of poetry around on public transport, benches, cafes, bars, etc to help spread some positivity, this year it’s Pavement Poetry!”
With mental health at the core of his creative mission, Tom is using poetry to challenge stigma and open up conversations in a gentle, relatable way. His mix of sincerity and wit — along with his self-deprecating stage name — makes his work approachable and refreshing. Tom continued, “The response has been incredible, the messages I’ve received have been so overwhelming. People have been so open, I’ve had messages about incredibly personal things, such as bereavements, breaks ups, baby scans, bad mental health days, the list goes on, and the amount of people who say how just a few of my silly little scribbles have helped them is just crazy, but also so heart-warmingly beautiful.”
What’s Happening In Wigan spent a few hours with Tom on sunny Sunday afternoon, and we can confirm, in person he is just as positive as his poetry. Think sunshine in a human form, spreading rays of light around them…that. On our little walk round his poetry trail in Wigan Town centre, Tom got to see people’s reactions first hand as they stopped to read his words and take them in.
Tom said “I never get to see this, I just write my poems and go, so to see this is really special. The two ladies we saw react to my poem on Wallgate about ‘walking into the next chapter’ was particularly uplifting, as one pointed to the other saying ‘that’s you’, and they walked off punching the air and cheering. Really special.”
On the 4th June, which marked a major milestone, the 50th consecutive day of the Pavement Poetry project, Tom partnered with The Old Courts in Wigan on a mission to chalk 50 poems across Wigan and Manchester in one day. He started the challenge at 7am, chalking five original poems around the entrances of The Old Courts, with others outside pubs, and near benches where people might be sitting and contemplating.
As for what’s next, The Chubby Northerner says he’s only just getting started. “I’ll keep going as long as people need it or the weather holds up I guess. I got to 100 days with my positive poetry scrolls last time so maybe around there again?”
You can follow his journey and find his latest poetic footprints on Instagram at @TheChubbyNortherner and across social media under the hashtag #PavementPoetry
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