The Manchester skyline, a love affair in Cornwall and seal pups in north Lincolnshire are among 12 distinctly regional images conjured up by a selection of poems published to celebrate National Poetry Day.
Poets from the dozen BBC broadcast regions submitted works inspired by local life and scenery to the corporation’s Local Poets initiative, with one being chosen from each area.
One poem from the collection, which includes efforts from the Young Poet Laureate for London, Momtaza Mehri, Portsmouth’s Abigail Parry and Cambridgeshire’s John Clegg, will be broadcast on each of the BBC’s regional stations on Thursday.
Twelve moments of Change celebrated in new #poetry by @RowanMcCabe @NicoleMay20 @katefoxwriter @KofTheTriffids @MulletProofPoet @John_Clegg_37 @KatrinaNaomi @ginpitnancy @RuffneckRefugee @JohnMcCullough_ @AngelasFollies #NationalPoetryDay #bbclocalpoets https://t.co/FqVMi3Vmjg pic.twitter.com/6rUuxmc0wL
— National Poetry Day (@PoetryDayUK) October 4, 2018
This year’s theme, Change, led amateur and professional poets to pen poems about trees slung with trainers in Brighton and the disappearance of the Geordie word “muckle”, which means freakishly large.
Other poems from the collection, which is also available via the BBC Local Poets website, depict the buddleia bush blooming in Gloucester and the number 98 bus in London.
The day has in previous years seen famous names such as JK Rowling, Ellen DeGeneres and Sir Paul McCartney share poems on social media.
The annual event is organised by the Forward Arts Foundation charity, which describes itself on its website as being “committed to widening poetry’s audience, honouring achievement and supporting talent”.
Susannah Herbert, director of National Poetry Day, said: “Poets have a special role to play in noticing change, for they catch so much that escapes the attention of pollsters and statisticians.
“They transform. Even everyday words, when set in memorable poems, take on new resonance.”
Kate Fox, whose poem was chosen to represent York, said: “People wrote in with their stories, which were as much about the little things as about life’s big turning points.
“I wanted to disturb the idea that Yorkshire is always the same.
“Change is a constant, and if you can accept that then it’s less of an upsetting surprise.”
School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said: “Whether it’s Shakespearean sonnets or John Cooper Clarke’s punk poetry, a love of verse opens up a world of expression and imagination. That’s why poetry has a unique place in our country’s heritage.
“I’m pleased to know that so many schools are marking National Poetry Day in imaginative ways. When I visit schools I often see and hear pupils’ poetry and am always taken by the individual ways in which they can use this art to paint such vivid pictures.”
Last year’s theme, Freedom, was celebrated by John Cooper Clarke and Kate Tempest.