This week in our poetry news roundup we look at an archive acquired by a university, the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen and the park being reinvented with poetry.
Liverpool University Acquires Roger McGough Archive
As part of their celebration for World Poetry Day, which fell on 21st March this year, the University of Liverpool has announced that they have acquired an archive belonging to Roger McGough, the celebrated Liverpool poet.
The archive is an important collection with a wide range of materials that offer an insight into the professional and creative work of McGough. There are drafts, manuscripts, scripts and project files linked to a number of major works including the 1968 film Yellow Submarine.
There are also a number of notebooks which trace his poetic practices across the years, corrected and uncorrected proofs of his many books, publisher correspondence and even original illustrations.
McGough is delighted that the archive will be going to the university, stating
These new materials will be added to the McGough holdings that the university already have, many of which were acquired in 2007 using Heritage Lottery Funds. All the materials will form part of the Special Collections and Archives at the University, which includes items dating as far back as the 12th century and which total two miles of materials and the largest collection of science fiction material in Europe.
250th Anniversary of Jane Austen Marked
Screenshot
Helen Mort, a poet in Sheffield, has penned a new work A House for Jane, in honour of the 250th anniversary of the birth of the writer Jane Austen. The piece was commissioned byOff the Shelf Festival of Words and the University of Sheffield.
The new poem offers a lyrical bridge between contemporary life in South Yorkshire and the Regency era, looking at the enduring legacy of Austen through the lens of modern Sheffield life. It uses the “stanza-as-room” structure to help construct a series of imaginary spaces for Jane Austen, whilst also looking into the timeless themes of domesticity and social navigation.
As a result of connection our world with the 18th century one of Austen, Mort takes an in depth look at “homes”.
Costa Mesa Park Revitalised with Poetry
The musings of the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, Lao Tzu a Chinese philosopher and the poet laureate of Costa Mesa are to be embedded into the concrete of the newly revitalised Brentwood Park in Costa Mesa.
The works that have been chosen are inspired by the themes of appreciation of the natural world and discovery. They invite visitors to the park to explore and consider poetry. Before the restoration work was completed the park was just a 2.5-acrestrip consisting of old picnic benches and grass, now it has been transformed into a more welcoming space that the community can really use.
You must register to comment. Log in or Register.