2012 olympic games
jubilee lines
A collection of 60 poems to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee have been put online here. Each one commemorates an event from the past 60 years and is presented both as text and in audio file format, together with archive photos. A lovely resource for teachers and budding poets.
holding a shared breath (Sjcs poetry evening 2013)
The Year 8 pupils of St John's College School perform their own Poetry Evening every year. To view the app created to promote the Poetry Evening, which includes the text of all the poems recited at the event and video poems, click here or scan the QR code to your Smartphone.
the queen's reception for contemporary british poetry
I was honoured to be among the 300 people from the world of poetry to be invited to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday 19th November. The reception was organised by Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, and the guest list featured published poets, English teachers, celebrity fans of poetry and young writers. The guests were treated to readings by Gillian Clarke, John Agard, Sinead Morrissey, Liz Lochhead and Carol Ann Duffy herself.
I managed to have a brief conversation with Her Majesty, The Queen after the readings had taken place. She said that she had particularly enjoyed hearing John Agard's alternative anthem, 'Put the Kettle On'. I told her how wonderful the Diamond Jubilee had been as an inspiration for getting children enthused about poetry and how we had used poems from Carol Ann Duffy's 'Jubilee Lines' project to help them engage with the historical events of the past 60 years. Her Majesty expressed her interest in the power of sharing the creative use of words with children and, although she did not have much time to read poetry herself, she was delighted to hear that poetry is alive and well in British schools.
I managed to have a brief conversation with Her Majesty, The Queen after the readings had taken place. She said that she had particularly enjoyed hearing John Agard's alternative anthem, 'Put the Kettle On'. I told her how wonderful the Diamond Jubilee had been as an inspiration for getting children enthused about poetry and how we had used poems from Carol Ann Duffy's 'Jubilee Lines' project to help them engage with the historical events of the past 60 years. Her Majesty expressed her interest in the power of sharing the creative use of words with children and, although she did not have much time to read poetry herself, she was delighted to hear that poetry is alive and well in British schools.
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Carol Ann Duffy left her entry card sitting on one of the rather smart antique side tables. Nice souvenir!
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