Taigh Chearsabhagh to participate in the Southbank Centre’s A Poet In Every Port project with ambassador Roger McGough.
A new mobile National Poetry Library, featuring a selection of the world’s largest public collection of modern poetry, will be travelling to North Uist in June this year on its tour to 11 coastal locations, with opportunities for everyone to read, write and perform poetry.
Travelling to each nation in the UK, from North Uist, to Penzance; Bangor and Caernarfon, the project celebrates the UK’s diverse dialects and languages and tells the stories of our coastal communities in poetry and spoken word throughout its journey.
Ambassador
The Southbank Centre has announced poet Roger McGough as the ambassador for A Poet In Every Port, alongside the full touring route for the new project. Inspired by the travelling exhibitions of the 1951 Festival of Britain, it forms a key part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary national programme.
New Poets Collective
At the heart of the project is a new cohort of the New Poets Collective, which has been formed to support emerging poets from each region A Poet In Every Port is visiting. They will lead the mobile National Poetry Library’s free activities in each location, working closely with the partners to celebrate local dialects and languages, and engage the wider community and public, showing that poetry is for everyone.
We are taking part!
Taigh Chearsabhagh is delighted to work with North Uist artist Susannah Bolton and to participate in the Southbank Centre’s A Poet in Every Port. Gaelic culture, in its verse, song and literature, is deeply rooted in island life as a living and changing language and we’re excited to work with Susannah and our intergenerational communities across the Gàidhealtachd to set these ideas alive.
Mark Ball, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, said:
“We’re thrilled to welcome Roger McGough as ambassador for A Poet In Every Port. Hailed as ‘the patron saint of poetry’, Roger is one of Britain’s most beloved wordsmiths, defined by a signature blend of Merseyside wit, accessibility, and warmth. He has a unique ability to bridge the gap between literary excellence and community engagement, making him the perfect figurehead to unite our 11 partner organisations and champion our shared voyage.
“This is a key project in the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary programme, where we consider what it means to be the arts centre of the future, and how, through creativity and culture, we can make a difference to people’s lives.”
Roger McGough, ambassador for A Poet In Every Port, said:
“May I begin by saying how honoured and excited I feel about being appointed Ambassador for such a worthwhile project, helping to promote something that has been central to me my whole life: Poetry. And not only poetry, but the Southbank Centre itself, because I remember when I was 14 being brought to London by my parents and being overawed by the Festival of Britain celebrations. Until then I thought only Liverpudlians knew how to enjoy themselves.”
We look forward to sharing Taigh Chearsabhagh’s programme of events and activities for A Poet in Every Port in the coming weeks! Keep an eye on our website and social media for more details.
For more information about the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary celebrations, visit their 75th Anniversary page. For more information on the project, visit the Southbank Centre’s A Poet in Every Port page.