Poetry brings people onto the streets
As the organiser of Island 2000's poetry scheme, I'm pleased when members of the public get involved.
We recently ran a competition to write poems inspired by the Island's 1500 bus stops - the top 10 poems being cast in bronze and set into the ground at the relevant stops. Last week, the winners were announced in the County Press and on Solent T.V. I naively underestimated the impact this would have. This morning, cycling in to work, I noticed queues of people waiting expectantly at several East Cowes stops, clearly hoping to be among the first to set eyes on the poems.
I saw several Japanese tourists waiting near Osborne House, while 100 metres further down the road at The Swiss Cottage stop, a mother with three small children were camped out. Perhaps most heart-warmingly, a group of hooded youths had gathered at the bus stop by the East Cowes Town Hall, clearly high spirited in anticipation of the arrival of Margaret Prior's poem 'Useful Old Umbrella Tree'. Not wanting to dampen their spirits, I did feel duty-bound to let them know that the actual installation will probably not take place before April, but to my surprise, though they took the news with some incredulity, they remained steadfast, waiting by the bus stop. I returned to East Cowes town centre this afternoon to buy a sandwich and found that the youngsters, not taking any chances, had had the initiative to organise some sort of rota system and had been replaced by two pensioners. What enthusiasm! How nice to see young and old working together and to think that they have been brought together by poetry.
We recently ran a competition to write poems inspired by the Island's 1500 bus stops - the top 10 poems being cast in bronze and set into the ground at the relevant stops. Last week, the winners were announced in the County Press and on Solent T.V. I naively underestimated the impact this would have. This morning, cycling in to work, I noticed queues of people waiting expectantly at several East Cowes stops, clearly hoping to be among the first to set eyes on the poems.
I saw several Japanese tourists waiting near Osborne House, while 100 metres further down the road at The Swiss Cottage stop, a mother with three small children were camped out. Perhaps most heart-warmingly, a group of hooded youths had gathered at the bus stop by the East Cowes Town Hall, clearly high spirited in anticipation of the arrival of Margaret Prior's poem 'Useful Old Umbrella Tree'. Not wanting to dampen their spirits, I did feel duty-bound to let them know that the actual installation will probably not take place before April, but to my surprise, though they took the news with some incredulity, they remained steadfast, waiting by the bus stop. I returned to East Cowes town centre this afternoon to buy a sandwich and found that the youngsters, not taking any chances, had had the initiative to organise some sort of rota system and had been replaced by two pensioners. What enthusiasm! How nice to see young and old working together and to think that they have been brought together by poetry.