Rounding out our bookish Tuesday, we bring you a little sneak preview of a poetic Thursday. National Poetry Day is nearly here - Christmas come early for all those good little sonneteers, spoken wordsters, and free-versing anarchists. This year's theme is Heroes and Heroines because, as the site says, 'Poetry celebrates heroes of all sorts from sporting heroes to mums and dads.' Bit prosaic, that, but the events on the day might well inspire a paean or two. Below, a round-up of what's on around this muse of a town:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear / The beauty of the morning: Get an early start with Polly Clark at Poetry Breakfast (8am, at BRB, 2-6 Cannon Street; free, but email [email protected] to book a spot). Clark, shortlisted for the 2005 TS Eliot prize, will be reading from her latest collection, the well-received Farewell My Lovely.
An omnibus across the bridge might well be of use should you want to head next to the Southbank Centre for National Poetry Day Live! (2pm, free). Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy will be on hand to read her first National Poetry Day poem; John Hegley, Selima Hill, Roger McGough and Lemn Sissay will perform; and audience-participation types can join in beach ball haiku (we have no idea, but we're intrigued) or the world's first giant knitted poem.
Wander through each chartered street this evening en route either to Heroes and Heroines at the National Portrait Gallery, where Polly Clark turns up for a second time today, along with Dannie Abse and Colin Wakefield (7pm, £5); or to the Jazz Poetry SuperJam (100 Club, 100 Oxford Street, 7.30pm, £10) for a chance to hear from the always-delightful, ever-surprising Michael Horovitz along with Blakespeare and the William Blake Klezmatrix Band, among others.
Know of other National Poetry Day events that we've missed? Leave them, and your favourite London verses, in the comments below. We'll put forth the following contender: London, thou art the flower of Cities all.
