We begin the week here on My Poetic Side with a look at the Wordsworth exhibition that is going to London. We also look at the film based on the musical Cats, and the New Hampshire Poet Laureate position.

Special Dorothy Wordsworth Exhibition Heads to London

Dorothy’s Room, an exhibition that was first displayed in the Lake District at Rydal Mount, will be making a trip to London in the autumn, where it is to be displayed at the Royal Geographical Society.

The exhibition is to play a role in the Landlines exhibition which will be part of the first showing of the Wilderness Art Collective.

Dorothy’s Room is the work of Louise Ann Wilson, a researcher and artist, and offers a look at the life of Dorothy Wordsworth the sister of the poet William Wordsworth. It was first seen by the public last summer when the bedroom in the house located just outside Ambleside that Dorothy used in her brother’s house was opened as an attraction. The installation was not only visual but also used sound, objects brought into the house from the surrounding areas and film – to maximum effect.

Dorothy’s Room was originally inspired by the descriptions in her journals which she wrote at Rydal. She was a huge fan of the fells and walking and when she was no longer able to do so due to age and health issues she relied on her written descriptions to bring the outdoors in. She was a woman ahead of her time – it was rather radical for a woman to go out walking as she did.

Rydal Mounts new curators are delighted that a little slice of the Lake District will be joining the special exhibition in London where they hope it will reach a much larger audience.

Cats – The Film

In 1939 T.S. Eliot wrote his Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. The book was filled with nonsense verses which the poet penned for his godchildren and was loosely based on the cats of his friends.

The book served as inspiration to Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber who wrote the now-famous musical Cats which toured all over the world and been seen by millions. Now Cats is set to be released as a film.

Australian actress Rebel Wilson was recently seen in the trailers which also starred Idris Elba and Taylor Swift. The trailer was met with mixed reviews with a number of critics declaring it was a little weird, a fact that others were quick to point out would probably have been greeted very positively by the poet.

The film is set to hit cinemas in December.

Poet Laureate Hopeful Dropped

Daniel Thomas Moran, the retired dentist and Poet Laureate candidate for New Hampshire, has been dropped from the running following criticism of one of his poems.

The poem in question concerns Condoleezza Rice, the former Secretary of State and is somewhat sexually suggestive. The Governor of New Hampshire who suggested Moran for the position says that he was unaware of the poem and has now asked the Poetry Society of New Hampshire to look for an alternative candidate.