Today in our poetry round-up we look at the final resting place of William Blake, the renovation of the tomb of a Turkish poet and finally the French subway station named for a poet that is to be renamed for a member of the World cup team.
New Gravestone for Blake
William Blake’s grave is currently marked by a stone in Bunhill Fields cemetery in central London. However, it has long been acknowledged that this stone which says he lay “nearby” was not the actual site of his burial. Blake died in obscurity in 1827 and the exact location of his final resting places was unknown until now.
Thanks to the work of a small team of Blake enthusiast’s history is about to be amended. In 2006 the group were finally able to locate the grave where the poet and painter was buried and now plans are well underway to create a brand-new memorial. Next month they are planning to unveil the new memorial in the exact spot where Blake was buried.
The memorial which is the result of a £30,000 fundraising initiative and many hours of hard work will give the poet the recognition that the Blake Society feels he deserves. In addition to being engraved with Blakes name the new headstone will also feature a quotation that whilst well known to Blake fans may not be so well known to others – the Society are keeping the exact quotation under wraps until the unveiling which will take place on 12thAugust, the 191stanniversary of the poet’s death.
The grave where Blake is now known to be buried also contains the bodies of six other people he died in poverty and was buried in an unmarked spot. The other bodies were buried on top of his as was the tradition at the time for those who died in these circumstances.
Any Blake enthusiasts wishing to own a part of history are in with a chance of owning a chip of the stone used to make the gravestone the Blake society has set aside 100 chips which they intend to send for £45 each.
Budapest Visit Planned for Turkish President
The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is shortly planning a trip to Budapest. The trip is being organised to inaugurate the tomb of Gül Baba, the 16thcentury Turkish poet who is buried in the Hungarian capital.
The renovation began two years ago and is almost complete. Both Hungary and Turkey have jointly shared the cost of all the renovation works. The tomb is an important Islamic pilgrimage site and also a popular tourist destination.
World Cup Subway Name Changes
As the French football team head home after their victory at the weekend the RATP, the transport authority in France have been making plans to rename not one but six of their subway stations on the metro in their honour.
Victor Hugo station, named for the poet and author is to be renamed Victor Hugo Lloris to incorporate the name of the team’s captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. In another clever play on names Notre-Dame des Champs shall now be named Didier Deschamps and Bercy will now be called “Bercy les Bleus” which is near to Merci Les Bleus.
And it isn’t just France where Subway names are changing, in England Southgate station will now be Gareth Southgate Station!
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