Strokestown has been named as one of 20 ‘Poetry Towns’ across Ireland has part of new initiative by Poetry Ireland, in partnership with Roscommon County Council Arts Office, which will see more than a hundred free poetry-related activities take place nationwide from September 10th to 18th this year.
As part of the initiative, Poetry Ireland, together with local authorities, will appoint a Poet Laureate for each participating town. The chose Poet Laureate, who will either hail from the town or have strong connections to it, will be commissioned to write a poem honouring their Poetry Town and its people. The chosen laureate for Strokestown will be announced very soon.
Each poem will be revealed and presented to the people of the participating towns at a series of flagship online events, one of which will be hosted in each town, and will feature contributions from local poets, artists and musicians.
There will also be a wide variety of additional activities in the Poetry Towns. These will include a series of poetry events involving local poets; poetry workshops; public poetry displays, including ‘Poetry Underfoot’; and a range of physical activities called ‘Poems that Move You’.
Local businesses including cafés and chemists, will also be participating in activities to celebrate their towns by distributing ‘pocket poems’ to customers. The full programme for each town will be made available on the Poetry Town website during the last week of August.
Commenting, Director of Poetry Ireland, Niamh O’Donnell said: “The idea behind Poetry Town is to celebrate the many vibrant towns and communities across the island of Ireland, through poetry, collaboration and communal experiences.
“Over the past 18 months, many of us have become more aware of what’s around us – from local parks or nature walks, to landmarks and monuments, to the stories held within the collective memory of our communities. There is poetry waiting to be uncovered in our surroundings and our everyday lives.
“We are excited to invite individuals, families and communities to join their Poetry Towns, or the Poetry Towns in their vicinity, in a vibrant celebration of the pride in their locality, the value and importance of our heritage, and the strength and diversity in our towns and rural areas”.
For further information, visit the Poetry Town website: poetrytown.ie.
