Follow on Twitter @librariesweek to stay up to date with this year’s campaign. A good way to discover what your local library is up to, or further afield (the joy of online).
The panel have chosen these novels on the theme of Identity: Beloved by Toni Morrison; Days Without End by Sebastian Barry; Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels; Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi; Small Island by Andrea Levy; The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath; The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy; Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe; White Teeth by Zadie Smith
I have been amazed at the Library Service over this time, they have offered so much to us all in isolation. We are back to renewing our books online ourselves, which means the library is open again! Whoop!
Happy National Poetry Day! I hope you find some good words to dive into today.
Here’s a small guide to places you can spend some time in. Enjoy!
The main website for National Poetry Day is worth a good look around, but in case you are snatching a poem on your lunch break or pressed for time, I have selected some options.
There are plenty of events happening online, nearly all are ticketed, some are free and there are lots of poetry take overs across social media platforms.
An exciting aspect of this year’s NPD is we are no longer bound by Geography – look beyond your region, spread the poetry love!
Tickets £7; £5 to current supporters of the Wordsworth Trust.
Simon Armitage was born in West Yorkshire and is an award-winning poet, playwright and novelist. In 2010 he was awarded the CBE for services to poetry and in 2019 he was appointed Poet Laureate. This year we have invited him to take over Dove Cottage for an exclusive performance of his own poetry, bringing to life the house that Wordsworth lived in 200 years ago.
Or you could just find a quiet spot, take a book off the shelf and indulge in a read, or grab a notebook and pen and have a write.
Between 2013-2018 I offered an annual writing retreat here on AWF. Over the 6 years of INKSPILL we had various guest poets gift us writing prompts, I have included a couple in this selection.
awritersfountain 