Today on My Poetic Side we look at the anniversary of the death of Idris Davies, the Children’s Laureate’s trip to the library and the exhibition about the Rossetti’s.
Rhymney Bells Chime for Famous Poet
On 6th April at approximately 1pm the bells of Rhymney chimed to mark the 70th anniversary of the day that the poet Idris Davies died.
The event took place in the bell tower of the St David’s Church and marked the end of a walk which had taken place as a celebration of the life of the poet. A short talk was given about the significance that the walk held, and how important Davies; words had been to the townsfolk of Rhymney.
Davies was a keen walker, and often took his inspiration from the contrast that could be seen in the local area with the industrial feel of the town and the rolling green hills. The walk was organised by the Rhymney Heritage group and visited a number of sites that had connections to the poet. Poetry was read along the way and the wider history of the area was discussed.
Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate Becomes Member of Warwickshire Libraries
Joseph Coelho, the 2022-2024 Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate has become a member of Nuneaton library. The move was part of the poet and writers nationwide “Library Marathon” tour. The aim of the tour is to encourage in local young people a love of reading.
Accompanied by BookTrust, the largest reading charity for children in the UK, Coelho visited the library to inspire young children to begin their own reading journey. He hosted an interactive story session which included poetry, rhymes and creative stories. He also read aloud from some of his own books during the event.
An award winning performance poet, children’s author and playwright, Coelho is planning to visit over 200 libraries across the country, Nuneaton was the 156th on his list. The program to champion local libraries is just one of the three initiatives that he will be undertaking during his time as Children’s Laureate.
Poetry Prompts is another of his initiatives, and is a weekly series online that will celebrate the power of poetry in a range of different forms.
Holmer Green and its Inspiration on a Victorian Poet Painter
An exciting Exhibition has just opened at Tate Britain. The Rossetti’s is an exhibition that is dedicated to the paintings of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the poems of Christina Rossetti.
The countryside around Amersham, in particular that near Holmer Green is particularly famous for its cherry orchards which are a particular detail in Dante Rosetti’s paintings.
Whilst Christina Rossetti lived for much of her life in a gloomy house in London, the home of her maternal grandparents provided much of the inspiration and the images of the rural world that can be seen in her poetry.
The history of the local area shows much of the influence that the Rossetti’s had there with many of the buildings named after them. The Rossetti family had many literary accomplishments and connections beyond those of Christina and Dante with their father translating work by John Milton into Italian and one of their relatives working as the doctor of Lord Byron.
The exhibition will be running until the end of September.
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