Poems Displayed on Plasma Screens

poems for display in schools, Poems for the NHS, Poems for...one world, Poems for...the waiting room, public poetry, Uncategorized
The plasma display screen is now common in all kinds of public settings, including schools, libraries and healthcare waiting rooms. So here is yet another form of screen for the eye to rest on, when already there are so many. And is "resting" the right word ? The screens' contents tend not be passive. Many reach out and seek to arrest the eye, both for good and for ill. They have the power to penetrate minds. For ill and for good. Recently, I was sitting in a village surgery waiting room and the large display screen there showed a succession and range, not just of health notices, but also of local resources, opportunities, activities, things supportive of health and humanity in individuals and community. It was full of real interest,…
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Reaching into Bristol – new partnerships

poems for display in schools, Poems for...one world, poems on mental health, public poetry, Uncategorized
Based these days in Bristol, "Poems for...the wall" has started to work in partnership with the Bristol Poetry Institute. The BPI is based in the literature department of Bristol University. The BPI has not only procured some seed money for us, but has also been greatly helpful in providing local contacts and opportunities. Thanks to that sponsorship, a small exhibition of the project's bilingual poem-posters is currently on display in a popular university café called Beacon House, near the Wills Memorial Building at the top of  Queens's Road. For, like many another university of the present day, Bristol University brings together students and staff from all over the world, representing a huge range of different mother-tongues. It means, of course, that large numbers of young people are spending a great…
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“Poems for the wall” breaks surface in the south west

poems for display in schools, Poems for...one world, Poems for...the waiting room, poems on learning disability, poems on mental health, public poetry, Uncategorized
A very good international magazine called "Resurgence," based in Devon, did a feature on the project in August this year. Click here for the online version. And during November, an exhibition of the project's bilingual poems went up in a busy public setting run by Bristol University. The poems make a strong public statement of mutual tolerance. Tolerance ? More than tolerance. They celebrate our difference, richly. They glory in it. They make poetry of it. Over the next few months, we shall be exploring further ways of displaying these poems in Bristol settings, run both by the university and the City Council. "Poems for the wall" has begun working with the Bristol Poetry Institute, based in Bristol University. See their website here.
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Two new “Poems for…” collections available

poems for display in schools, Poems for...one world, poems on learning disability, poems on mental health, public poetry
The two collections were launched in Bristol in the Autumn of 2015. The charity United Response assisted. The mental health collection is called "Poems for...Self at Sea" and consists of 30 poems. It was funded by NHS Westminster. The learning disability collection is called "Poems for...Bridges to Learning Disability." This one consists of 20 poems and was funded privately. A significant number of authors contributed to each of collections, several writing from first hand experience, others from many years of close proximity. The poems were carefully selected. The poems are formatted in poster form and are available free of charge both in hard copy and online. The posters are small but can be enlarged. Alternatively, they are available as part of an attractive booklet produced by United Response. But these…
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Poems for…Bridges to Anatolia

poems for display in schools, Poems for...one world, Poems for...the waiting room, public poetry, Uncategorized
"Poems for...Bridges to Anatolia" is based largely - though not entirely - on the translation work over the years of the Turkish poet Mevlut Ceylan. Ceylan lived in London for many years and under the title "Core Publications" produced a significant number of booklets that feature and celebrate Turkish poetry. Each is translated into English, the vast majority by Ceylan himself. Some are anthologies, following a theme. Others feature the work of individual Turkish authors. Ceylan's quiet and patient work opens the life of one culture to another and in doing so reveals the distinctness of each but also and more importantly their common humanity. He has built and opened a bridge. The selection offered here took over two years to put together and consists of over twenty poems. It…
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