Poetry event heading back to South Shields - with a special guest
South Shields set to welcome poetry event to the town - with a special guest.
Poetry in motion is coming to South Tyneside for the second year running – inspired by a world-famous wordsmith.
The A Poet in Every Port travelling exhibition will arrive at The Word library in South Shields for two days in September as part of a national venue tour.
It aims to help poetry lovers celebrate the UK’s diverse dialects and languages by telling the stories of the nation's coastal communities in poetry and spoken word.
The tour has been organised by London’s Southbank Centre, which will send part of its National Poetry Library, which houses the world’s largest collection of modern poetry, out on the road.
A Poet in Every Port, which will be at The Word on Friday, September 18, and the following day, will feature unique poetry collections and a recording studio.
Organisers say visitors of all ages can browse the collection of books and take part in free workshops and watch performances by local poets.
Its ambassador is award-winning Liverpool-born poet Roger McGough, known as ‘the godfather of modern poetry’.
He will attend a launch event in Great Yarmouth, one of 11 towns A Poet in Every Port will stop off at, on Friday, May 29.
At The Word, South Shields-based British-Bengali poet Akiba Azad will be the tour's representative.
Akiba said being part of A Poet in Every Port for the second time “means a lot” to her and that she is looking forward to the opportunity to develop “creatively and professionally” during the project.
She revealed what she loves most about poetry is the opportunities it provides to forge connections, “from initial ideas to finalised pieces, through hearing audiences’ reactions and thoughts, to engaging with poets and their work”.
And Akiba said she was particularly “excited to encourage the people of South Shields to interact with poetry” and share the results of their work.
She added: “I’m proud of every part of my poetry journey, especially learning that my words can impact people, sparking reactions and conversations.”
Mr McGough said A Poet in Every Port was inspired by the optimistic Festival of Britain 75 years ago and “is to show poetry is for everyone”.
He said: “Writing poetry is what helps us feel human, vulnerable and yet powerful, and above all, alive. It’s something I have loved all my life.”
As part of the tour, the Southbank Centre is launching the UK-wide Word Exchange poetry competition.
Word Exchange poems are short poems that celebrate the words, sayings, languages, accents and dialects from a local region.
The competition invites UK residents aged 16 and over to record a video of themselves performing their poem and post it on Instagram or TikTok using the hashtag #APoetinEveryPort.
A winner will be selected at the end of the year and awarded a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform their work live on stage at the 2027 London Literature Festival.
Mark Ball, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, said: “As we launch, we're asking everyone across the UK to get involved through our national poetry competition.”
Competition details are at www. Southbank.co.uk