Happy National Poetry Day!

The National Poetry Day Patchwork Poem 2011, Pelmanism, collated by Andy Jackson from lines taken from contributions by a number of poets/writers appeared today. To my delight, it includes a line from my own poetry: ‘war games, the unbearable logic’. The Patchwork Poem, published in the North Carr Light, can be read here. It is a multi-layered, thoughtful poem… I cannot imagine how Andy Jackson put it together from all those separate poems and poets! What a feat!

This afternoon, I went to the Royal Festival Hall for the National Poetry Live event. A fantastic afternoon of poetry, poetry, poetry; all sorts of poetry. Simon Armitage, Lemn Sissey, Jackie Kay, Jo Shapcott, Jo Bell and others… Wonderful work. My absolute fav though, was Joelle Taylor, who read her poetry from the heart. Wrote it from the heart… Hard-hitting as well as thought-provoking work set in the  wastelands of high rise buildings in London’s poorest areas, it spoke of dispossessed children, women, people, and lives, finding hope in poetry and its transformational  powers.