Poetry Group
Welcome to “ Poetry for You!”
As part of the development of the Arts activities at St Mary’s Church, a poetry group has already been established which first met on Thursday 5th March. We have not given it a name yet but there could be a number of options: Poetry for You, Poetry Corner, St Mary’s Poetry Group ....
Sadly at the present, due to health restrictions, we are not able to meet but we are planning to include a website page for the broad range of poetry endeavours - whether writing poetry or reciting or discussing various poets or poems.
The name “Poetry for You” perhaps suggests that it is very much about what we want collectively as a group. And as part of the welcome to this new venture, let us offer some thoughts about poetry. Here are quotations from three of our famous poets from the Romantic Period:
- “Poetry should surprise by a fine excess and not by singularity - it should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost a remembrance.”
John Keats from On Axioms and the Surprise of Poetry
- “Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.”
Percy Bysshe Shelley from A Defence of Poetry and Other Essays
- “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.”
William Wordsworth from Preface to Lyrical Ballads
These quotations seem to embrace a possible scope for the group and hopefully stimulate us to read, reflect on or even, dare we suggest, write poetry. We could also reflect on the lives and contributions of various poets and have a “Poet for the Month” slot.
We will post various links and articles on this website page, and we invite you to contribute. Of course we will need to exercise some editorial oversight, but we will welcome a wide range of material. Please send material to rverrall42@gmail.com
Below are two links you may find of interest:
Link for King Lear Prize
https://www.kinglearprizes.org.uk/
Link to Daily Telegraph Article
‘Want to write better poetry? Stop writing and start reading’
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Roger Verrall & the Poetry Group
Poetry Workshops
Poetry workshops normally take place over lunchtime in St Mary's Parish Centre, and participants have the opportunity to enjoy a bowl of soup whilst feeding the brain with old and new poetry. There are old favourites to hear again, new poems to be introduced to, and opportunities for writing fresh compositions. The workshops also encourage participants to engage with the meaning and nuance of all forms of poetry.
For further information, contact sarahbourne@banburystmary.org.uk
