Where does poetry take you? How can a poem unlock your city’s past, present and future? How do you tell your stories through poetry? Part of the Words & Voices Roadshow: Poetry in the City, join us for a day of celebrating our love of poetry, and creating spaces and opportunities to read and listen to poetry, and even try your hand at writing it. Find out more (https://warwick.ac.uk/about/cityofculture/get-involved/programme/current...)
In the afternoon, our ‘Poetry in the City’ workshop up in the Treehouse (4-7pm) will explore the poetry of Coventry, bringing together local poets with staff and students from the University of Warwick in a relaxed, workshop style session. Hear about George Eliot’s poems about the Coventry canal, listen to Cathy Galvin’s ode to the Coventry ring road, learn about the connection between the city and its natural environment through poetry and get acquainted with new poetry specially written for this event and for City of Culture. This event is suitable for poets (and the poetry-curious) of all ages, and people are welcome to come and go as they please throughout the session. Everyone attending will receive a limited edition ‘Poetry Pocket’, produced by Theatre Absolute, full of goodies to encourage everyone to give poetry writing a go.
Detailed timings:
4-5 Walking the Coventry Ring Road with Lady Godiva (led by Emma Mason, English and Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick): Walking the Coventry Ring Road with Lady Godiva (2019) is a short sequence of poetry by Cathy Galvin, born in Coventry the year the ring road was built. In the workshop we will talk together about how the poem figures Lady Godiva as our guide to the ring road's spiritual geography, and follow her as she walks us around Coventry's sacred buildings, monasteries, and graveyards.
5-6 Coventry’s ‘Present Past’ in Poetry and Water (with Stacey McDowell, English and Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick) and Coventry poet Kim Hackleman. A poetry reading and discussion about people’s sense of connection to Coventry, which begins by looking back to famous local writer, George Eliot, before turning to poets who are writing about the city now. Stacey will invite people to share their own memories of the city and to think about how they resonate with this poetry. Stacey and Kim will also discuss the centrality of water in poetry about Coventry.
6-7 ‘You Wood, Wood You?’ A Workshop on Ecopoetics (with Jonathan Skinner and Tom Crompton, English and Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick). In this poetry workshop for people of all abilities, we'll explore connections between ecology and poetry, with a special focus on the community and communication of trees--to celebrate the variety of woodlands throughout the West Midlands Green Belt, the threats they face, and how poetry might come to the defence of these gentle giants in our midst. No previous writing experience necessary.