UK’s Nationwide Poetry Initiative: What does a ‘poetry town’ even look like?
The permanent installation of poetry at the Olympic Park is one of the central aspects of Winning Words (http://www.winningwordspoetry.com/) – a nationwide poetry initiative inspired by London 2012. But Winning Words also invites communities around the country to engage with poetry in new and dynamic ways, and to this end it is collaborating with a host of specially selected ‘Beacon Towns’ this summer.
From presenting poetry in exciting and innovative ways – think bringing the words off the page, literally – to encouraging community participation around poetry, Beacon Towns like Weymouth and Brecon are reaching out to encourage participation, celebration and creativity.
The value of that connection between the arts and our communities has been argued by countless directors and creative practitioners. It brings people from all walks of life together in something collaborative – it crosses all social and economic divides, cultures and classes so that local areas become stronger socially.
But what about our communities that aren’t Beacon Towns? How can we embed poetry in local areas to bring people together and encourage creative collaboration?
What does a ‘poetry town’ even look like? From Guardian
Tips from Winning Words Poetry:
There are lots of ways that you can bring poetry to life in your day to day life with very little trouble at all.. and maximum results!
Why not try one of the following….
- Bake a poetry cake! Create your own words in icing
- Write a poem in the sand next time you’re at the beach – see how long it lasts before the waves wash it away
- Create a poetry trail in the forest – use twigs and rocks to spell out the words of your favourite poem, or write your own •Make your very own poetry t-shirt with fabric pens or iron-on transfers
- Collect some pebbles and stones and paint words on them, then arrange them to create all sorts of different poems
- Into sewing? Why not create an embroidery or cross-stitch poem to hang on your wall?
- Create a mystery poem by cutting out words from magazines and newspapers like a ransom note, then send it to someone you know and see if they can work out who it came from
Date: June 12, 2012
Categories: Uncategorized