Wolverhampton's Central Library, in conjunction with Poetry on Loan, will be marking National Poetry Day next Thursday (28 September) with free events for adults and younger readers.

The Poetry Readers Group based at Central Library, Snow Hill, are inviting newcomers to join them for an open session being held on Wednesday 27 September from 4pm to 5pm.

Meanwhile, on Thursday 5 October, visiting poet Kurly McGeachie will be dropping into Central Children's Library to help the teen readers group discover their inner poet from 5pm to 6pm. New members are very welcome.

Both events are free and booking is not necessary.

Councillor John Reynolds, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: "National Poetry Day is all about enjoying, discovering and sharing poems.

"Last year marked the best sales on record for poetry books in both volume and value, and demand continues to grow - so I'd like to invite people to come along to our National Poetry Day events at Central Library and find out for themselves what all the fuss is about."

Since 1994 National Poetry Day has engaged millions of people with poetry through a range of live events and web based activities for people throughout the country. National Poetry Day is coordinated by the charity Forward Arts Foundation, whose mission is to celebrate excellence in poetry and increase its audience.

To find out more about National Poetry Day, please visit Type=links;Linkid=9667;Title=National Poetry Day;Target=_blank;. For more information about Kurly McGeachie, please visit Type=links;Linkid=9668;Title=Kurlys Poetry;Target=_blank;. Poetry on Loan promotes contemporary poetry through public libraries in the West Midlands - for more details, please visit Type=links;Linkid=9669;Title=Poetry on Loan;Target=_blank;.

Councillor Reynolds added: "One of the key things people told us when we were consulting on our Libraries Transformation Strategy for 2017 to 2027 was that they wanted to see more events and activities in our 16 libraries, and I am pleased to say that these 2 National Poetry Day events will be complemented by a week long programme of activities to mark National Libraries Week next month."

For more information about Wolverhampton's libraries, please visit Type=articles;Articleid=1703;Title=Libraries; or call 01902 552025.

  • released: Thursday 21 September, 2017