Today on My Poetic Side we look at Simon Armitage’s library tour, the poem lighting up Coventry Cathedral and the foundation stone of the Nasimi buildings in Kiev.
The Poet Laureate”s Library Tour
The poet laureate in the UK, Simon Armitage, will be starting a tour of libraries in the UK in 2020. The tour is planned to last for 10 years.
For the next ten years, during one week in spring, Armitage will be giving readings in libraries all across the country. The tour is being assisted by the T S Eliot Estate and Faber & Faber who were the poet”s long-term publishers.
The alphabet will be Armitage’s guide and his Laureate Library Tour will be looking to involve local communities, students and poets at every stage of their journey as they celebrate libraries and everything that they give to their communities.
This is a project that Armitage is passionate about. His own personal experience of writing and reading began in the little village library where he grew up. It then moved to bigger libraries and then the libraries of the places he studied and then taught. The very existence of the local library is something that is currently under threat as budget cuts threaten staffing levels and opening hours. He is hoping to reignite people’s passion for reading and visiting the library.
Coventry Cathedral Lights Up
The grounds of Coventry Cathedral are to be transformed into an extravaganza of light for three days next week. The event which will be combined with poetry will mark the towns wartime courage during the Blitz.
The areas where the lights will fall tell a story; the story of the people who fought to save the stunning cathedral during the German raid which took place on 14th November 1940.
The Poetry Society and Historic England have worked together with Double Take Projections to create this truly spectacular show.
The poem that has been created to go with the show is “In a New Light”, and it will be narrated each night with the words illuminated on the walls of both the new cathedral and the ruins of the old one.
The old cathedral spire will predominately be the focus of the illuminations which are inspired by the idea of stained glass. There will be an original score of music to accompany the light show to provide the perfect atmosphere.
Foundation Stone Laid in Kiev for Building Commemorating Nasimi
A ceremony to lay the foundation stone for a building that will be named to commemorate Imadaddin Nasimi the Azerbaijani thinker and poet has been held in Kiev in the Ukraine.
The building is being constructed to accommodate a museum, centre, a conference hall and a guest house all of which will be named after the poet. It is being built at the request of the Azerbaijani Embassy in the country.
Before the groundbreaking ceremony took place a number of new trees were planted near to the statue of the poet that is located in the park nearby.
The foundation stone for the new building was laid by Azer Khudiyev, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Ukraine.
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